Hooray! Uphill from here.

[craig110]

Yippee!  It is after midnight UTC, so it is December 21st and today, of special interest for those of us solar panel users in the northern hemisphere, is the shortest day of the year.  It only gets better from here!  (And I'm glad.)

For those of you "down south," enjoy the sunshine now as it is heading back our way.

Craig

[wooferhound]

The title should read as . . .

 It's all Downhill from here !

[wooferhound]

Plus ,  it's time to put another brick in place for the Sundial.

[jimjjnn]

Send me a sundial that works in a blizzard. I cant see 50 feet away

[Nando]

What You need is a SUN dial for the blinds

Nando

[richhagen]

I wasn't sure what day it was that was the shortest, but I new it was around now, and that is good.  It was dreary all of this short day, and the panels only logged 6 or 7 amp hours.  Rich

[craig110]

Yeah, it can get confusing.  The shortest overall sunshine day is Dec 21st, but the day with the earliest sunset is actually Dec 8th.  The latest sunrise is Jan 4th.  So, the "right" day to mark depends upon what you are looking for.  Prior to having solar panels installed, the 8th was my key day since evening daylight is more important to me than the morning light.

Craig

[Norm]

   A ridiculously tall tower comes to mind where

the sunshines on the solar array longer?

           ( :>) Norm.

[craig110]

Yup, that would work as the higher up the panels are, the earlier they would catch the sunrise and the later they'd enter darkness.  Sad to say, though, I believe the tower would have to be several hundred miles tall to really make a difference.  For the hassle, I'd be looking for more sunshine than just, say, three or four minutes more per day from a tower in the couple-thousand foot range.  (Sorry, I forget the exact formula to get more accurate numbers.)

The best part, though, is that here in New England a several hundred mile tall tower would go through the jet stream for much of the year.  What a platform for some "lower level" wind turbines as well!  ;-)

Craig

[craig110]

I presume you're talking about the summer heat in Alabama.  I hear you, but if it was pitch black outside at 5pm you'd probably agree about it being all uphill from here.

[wooferhound]

Or a Digital Sundial

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_sundial

[asheets]

Actually, solstice occurs at 19:53 mountain tonight.  And, if I remember any of my climatology studies correctly, the days won't get noticibly longer for a few more days afterwards anyhow (something about the orbit in addition to the axis tilt -- don't hold me to that, though).

Anyway, right now in Loveland CO, I can't even get to my panels through all the snow in my backyard.

[wpowokal]

Er if you northerners think we sotherners are giving the sun back so soon.... well forget it, the sun shines from only one spot, and I'm staying here.

allan down under