In general, the length of a
day varies throughout the year, and depends upon latitude. This variation is caused by the tilt of the Earth's axis
of rotation with respect to the ecliptic
plane of the Earth around the sun. At the solstice occurring about June 20–22, the north pole is tilted toward
the sun, and therefore the northern
hemisphere has days ranging in duration from just over 12 hours in the
southern portion of the Tropic
of Cancer to 24 hours in the Arctic
Circle, while the southern
hemisphere has days ranging in duration from just under 12 hours in
the northern portion of the Tropic
of Capricorn to zero in the Antarctic
Circle.
I find the nature at its best when I behold a sunrise or a
Sunset from wherever I am. The location may be anywhere in the world. It may be
my bedroom window, a non-descript street disappearing at a blank canvas either
in the East to greet the rising Sun or in the West to greet or bid adieu to the
setting Sun.
I remember when I was a child; I used to get up early in the
morning to see the Sun rising from the Far East where the street closed at the
park end. At that age, the Sunset used to be a sorry affair for me as I had to
return back after playing.
Early in my college career, I had the opportunity to visit
Netarhaat some 150 KM West of Ranchi(Jharkhand, India). This place was at a height of over 1000
meter and was famous for witnessing Sunrise and Sunset particularly in
the summer. I remember that we perched on the roof of the bus two hours before
the sunrise. Every moment was beyond description. I saw shades of color that I
had never seen before either in my spectroscopy periods or anywhere in a movie.
Every second of the 2x60x60 second had a distinctly different landscape; from
dark to indigo to purple and so on. It is surprising that till now no
professional video is available on the Utube. The ones that I have uploaded are
from some non-descript camera.
My rendezvous with Netarhaat in 1963 enabled me to make up
my mind, to pass my best time with the beautiful Sun when it rises and when it
sets. At Ranchi, The highest point from my residence was the hillock over which
the Jagannath temple was situated. This 100 meter high hillock was four
kilometer from my house. The distance was perfect for my morning walk. I used
to reach the top of the hillock well before the Sunrise.
My unending tryst with the life giving Sun kept on peaking.
Last year, I was in
Baldivis (Perth, Western Australia). I never missed a day unless it was
highly overcast. The place has a clear blue sky with the long distance of
distinct vision extending to the infinity where the Sun peeps up from beyond
the mountain range or dips down over the Ocean. The jewel in the crown was the
Cape Peron where tourists flock to witness the Sunset over the Ocean.
Somewhere above Moscow , from the distant side window at the
left , I found the wings of the aircraft
splashed with crimson red indicating that the Sun was about to rise. To my
utter surprise, this state of the morning remained at it was until we entered
the US territory some time at 0600 hrs.( Local time).
It was to be the longest sunrise that I ever got a glimpse
of. At around 800 KMH the aircraft
(Boing 777) had a race with the darkness at its tail and dawn at its nose. Perhaps,
the view on the Moon and on satellites in geo-stationary orbits would provide a
more fascinating looksee.
How is it that nobody has thought of putting this marvel of
the on the internet or more specifically in websites such as Utube for
others to know, learn and savor for eternity?
marvels
marvels
