Two minutes, seven seconds

DATELINE: Winter solstice 2021

No matter how you cut it, we are moving through some dark times these days. But, today marks a turning point, if only astronomically speaking.

In the northern hemisphere, December 21st marks the winter solstice: the longest night and the shortest day…and hereafter, the days get longer and the nights get shorter. More daylight is coming: Hooray!

Sure, it comes only minute by minute, but come it does. Look how those minutes add up, week by week (Winnipeg, MB data):

• Dec. 21, 2021: 8.09 hours of daylight + 1.28 sky = 9.37 hours total
• Dec. 22, 2021: 8.09 hours of daylight + 1.28 sky = 9.37 hours total (no change yet)
• Dec. 29, 2021: 8.15 hours daylight + 1.27 sky = 9.42 hours total = 5 minutes more 
• January 5, 2022: 8.28 hours daylight + 1.26 sky = 9.54 hours total = 12 minutes more
• January 12, 2022: 8.48 hours daylight + 1.23 sky = 9.72 hours total = 18 minutes more
• January 19, 2022: 8.75 hours daylight + 1.21 sky = 9.96 hours total = 24 minutes more
• January 26, 2022: 9.07 hours daylight + 1.18 sky = 10.25 hours total = 29 minutes more

I have tried to find out exactly what the Canada National Research Council source site means by “sky”, but I have not been successful. However, I have learned that there are different types of twilight, which is not bright, direct sunlight but neither is it darkness. Possibly that is the meaning of ‘sky’ in the above calculations of growing light-time for us. Regardless, if it’s light, it is not dark.

• Civil Twilight = the brightest of the three twilight phases. The sun is just below the horizon, so there is generally enough natural light to carry out most outdoor activities.
• Nautical Twilight = the second twilight phase. Both the horizon and the brighter stars are usually visible at this time, making it possible to navigate at sea. The term dates back to when sailors used the stars to navigate the seas; during nautical twilight, most stars can be easily seen with the naked eye.
• Astronomical Twilight = the darkest of the three twilight phases. It is the earliest stage of dawn in the morning and the last stage of dusk in the evening, when the atmosphere scatters and refracts a small amount of sunlight making it difficult for astronomers to view the faintest objects.

Anne (left), Amanda and Yvonne (right):
taken during a lovely visit in Gimli, MB in July 2019

My splendid mother, Anne, is always keen to mark the winter solstice and the slow but steady increase in daylight, so I always think of her today. And I also think of Alvina, the late mother of my friend Yvonne, who was as quick to mark the summer solstice as she was to point out that the days would, from that day on, be growing shorter. Alvina spoke the truth, as does my mother. Let’s hear it for splendid mothers and for the increasing daylight hours we can look forward to over the coming months. Even if those hours will grow only minute by minute. It will be worth it. It always is. Winter is here, but spring is coming, dear readers!

Note: This post’s title comes from this jealousy-inducing tidbit from the UK newspaper The Mirror: “A few days after the winter solstice, days will start getting longer by an average of two minutes and seven seconds every day until we [in England] have a full extra hour of daylight by January 18, 2022. From this point onwards and every four weeks after, we'll continue to get an hour or so of sunshine lighting up the day.”

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Land acknowledgement: I respectfully recognize that I live on the original lands of Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation.