Tomorrow will be Dec. 21^st. That same date is also referred to as the Winter Solstice OR First Day of Winter.  The Winter Solstice, is when the Sun, reaches its furthest point south of the equator, giving everyone north of the equator, their shortest day of the year, meaning least amount of daylight hours!  I know we ALL dislike the short daylight hours, just be thankful you are not above the Artic Circle where they have 24 hours of darkness!! 

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

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.  Example, photo #1 (above) was taken from the intersection of Kestrel Lane and Youngs Island Road, facing east or 12 o’clock, over Youngs Island Rd. looking at 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.  NOTE: Everyday the sun will move a little. I have added a map of this target area and placed numbers where each photo shows sunrise and sunset. 

OBSERVATION:  Creating these landmarks, observing the sun’s movement photo albums, does require some patience, perseverance and LUCK!  Think about if the weather doesn’t cooperate, you have to wait till next year! OR do a rerun trip, hoping to get some photos in a close proximity of time close to the target date!  I have many of these sun position albums from all over the place, ALAS, most are not the exact date of the solstice, but are a as close to date as possible!

The photos today for me are not a difficult journey – I FALL OUT OF BED and I’m there!  However, some of my other target areas, mentioned below, are a different story! We are talking some time and distance to get there! AND Remember, in the summer time we are talking some early morning trips.

Some other neat places for charting the Sun’s Movement:

Great Meadows Hope Road Scenic Overlook – 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.

Eagle Rock Reservation in West Orange, off I 280.  This is Essex County’s 9/11 Memorial.  The Winter Solstice has sunrise just over the southern tip of NYC and then the sun heads north or to the left out of sight almost parallel to the cliffs!  This is a fun visit, covering a vast area from Staten Island across the Verrazano Bridge up through NYC up beyond the George Washington Bridge!  There is also a lot to see in between Eagle Rock and NYC 12 miles east, Newark Airport, NJ Turnpike and on and on.

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

AND – Let us not forget the Jersey Shore, ANYWHERE, ON ANY BEACH is a great view for sunrise photos!!!

Enjoy Your Open Space, Charlie Fineran

Director Open Space, Allamuchy Township Environmental Commission – Chairman

Allamuchy Historical Society – President