This last Saturday, Dec. 21, was also the Winter Solstice OR First Day of Winter.  The Winter Solstice, when the sun reaches its farthest point south of the equator, gives everyone north of the equator their shortest day of the year. This means we have the least amount of daylight hours (and the longest night of the year)! 

I know, we ALL dislike the short daylight hours, but just be thankful you are not above the Arctic Circle, which has 24 hours of darkness this time of year!

Looking at this from a positive note, from now on, until June 21 (the Summer Solstice and the First Day of Summer), each day will get a little longer!!  I wish I could also say that each day will get a little warmer! That is not the case, BUT, we are headed in the right direction as far as the sun is concerned.

THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO

Last Saturday, I actually took some nice photos of this year’s Winter Solstice Sunset.  The photos were showing the sun setting down behind the Jenny Jump Mountain, from Youngs Island Road, with a nice view across the vast sod and farm fields. I was all set to use some of those photos for this Photo of the Week article!  But, you might not be able to believe it, because I can’t, I deleted the same before downloading them onto my computer!! Can’t believe I did that, and I had some other photos I wanted that were also lost!! 

Well, back to the archives!!

Over the years, I have enjoyed following and charting the sun’s movement along various horizons!  It is really quite amazing just how far the sun travels from Solstice to Solstice!!  I have set up this article to give you an idea of just what I am talking about. 

Our photo area just happens to be almost literally my backyard: the sod and farm fields off Youngs Island Road.  Youngs Island Road is a perfect landmark. 

Photo #1 was taken from the intersection of Kestrel Lane and Youngs Island Road, facing east or “12 o’clock” (over Youngs Island Road), toward the sun rising above the distant ridge. 

Photo #2 shows the setting sun, facing south, or “3 o’clock,” from Youngs Island Road.  That is not a lot of distance across the horizon. 

Every day the sun will move a little along the horizon.  From the sunrise photo, the sun will move to the left, reaching its farthest point north on June 21, shown in photo #3 (or 9 o’clock)!  From photo #2, sunset, the sun will begin to move to the right, until June 21, which is photo #4, almost directly opposite photo #1. I have added a map of this target area and placed numbers where each photo shows sunrise and sunset.  Every day gets longer from sunrise AND also from sunset!!  Winter has about 1 quadrant of light, from #1 to #2, while Summer has 3 quadrants of light, covering #3 to #1, #1 to #2, and finally #2 to #4.  The Sun never goes between #3 & #4!!

Some other neat places for charting the sun’s movement:

Great Meadows Hope Road Scenic Overlook: During the Summer Solstice, the sun sets in the Delaware Water Gap then begins to work its way south, or to the left, getting almost out of sight behind the tree line.

Overlooks along Skyline Drive atop the mountain in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area: Skyline Drive, the road between Blue Mountain Lakes and Crater Lake, is another vast horizon with some impressive downward views!!

If you don’t mind traveling a bit farther, try Eagle Rock Reservation’s 9/11 Memorial in West Orange, just off I-280.  The Winter Solstice has sunrise just over the southern tip of New York City, viewable from the monument, and then the sun heads north (or to the left) out of sight, almost parallel to the cliffs!! This is a fun day visit, the view covering a vast area from Staten Island across the Verrazano Bridge up through NYC and then beyond the George Washington Bridge!

Enjoy Your Open Space

Charlie Fineran

Director Open Space
Allamuchy Township Environmental Commission – Chairman
Allamuchy Historical Society – President