Oh Happy Day,

The Sun has stopped its' travel south. Getting ready for it march north.
I got a
23 degree plus reading at Noon today

A sunny day in the Northwest. 92 days for the Sun to reach the Equator

AND; I'LL DRINK TO THAT!

Ole Thom

11° F this morning with a wind chill of -7°F.
Wind is 33 from the NW gusting to 42. Looks like
winter to me.
Maybe I'll take the laser out in a little while.
S.



"Thom Stewart" wrote in
message
...
: Oh Happy Day,
:
: The Sun has stopped its' travel south. Getting
ready for it march north.
: I got a
: 23 degree plus reading at Noon today
:
: A sunny day in the Northwest. 92 days for the
Sun to reach the Equator
:
: AND; I'LL DRINK TO THAT!
:
: Ole Thom
:

5°, wind chill -8° here.
Blew like stink all night.
Supposed to get up to 21° today.
Maybe it will be warmer in upstate NY?

Scotty




"NotPony" wrote in message
news:Amyxd.1151$Y57.147@trnddc08...
11° F this morning with a wind chill of -7°F.
Wind is 33 from the NW gusting to 42. Looks like
winter to me.
Maybe I'll take the laser out in a little while.
S.



"Thom Stewart" wrote in
message
...
: Oh Happy Day,
:
: The Sun has stopped its' travel south. Getting
ready for it march north.
: I got a
: 23 degree plus reading at Noon today
:
: A sunny day in the Northwest. 92 days for the
Sun to reach the Equator
:
: AND; I'LL DRINK TO THAT!
:
: Ole Thom
:

You're jumping the gun a bit, Thom. The precise moment of the 2004
solstice will be December 21, 2004 at 7:42 A.M. EST (12:42 UT).

Tomorrow has the least daylight for those of us in the North, it has the
most for our inverted brethren down South.

However, it does not have the latest/earliest sunrise/sunset as one
might expect. Since the actual time of local noon varies up to 15
minutes through the year, the earliest sunset up North is about Dec. 8,
the latest sunrise is about Jan 5. If this doesn't make sense, search on
"equation of time" or check out:
http://www.astronomynotes.com/nakedeye/s9.htm

New England is having a little snow storm now, so it will be a White
Christmas around here. I, however, am headed for Florida in a few days!


Happy Solstice, Everyone!

-jeff
"Coasting with the motion of the ocean" -Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride


Thom Stewart wrote:
Oh Happy Day,

The Sun has stopped its' travel south. Getting ready for it march north.
I got a
23 degree plus reading at Noon today

A sunny day in the Northwest. 92 days for the Sun to reach the Equator

AND; I'LL DRINK TO THAT!

Ole Thom

"Jeff Morris" wrote

New England is having a little snow storm now, so it will be a White
Christmas around here. I, however, am headed for Florida in a few
days!

Taking Neal his present?

Scott Vernon wrote:
"Jeff Morris" wrote

New England is having a little snow storm now, so it will be a White
Christmas around here. I, however, am headed for Florida in a few

days!

Taking Neal his present?

Ya know, I would really love to meet Neal, even at the risk of providing
him with great fodder for future posts! However, we'll be up in Boca
Raton - a side trip down to Key West would be about 200 miles, with CN
about half way. I'm not sure we'll make it, but if Neal would like to
put us up for a few days, we could be tempted! My daughter would love
to go swimming off a boat again!

"Jeff Morris" wrote

Ya know, I would really love to meet Neal, even at the risk of
providing
him with great fodder for future posts! However, we'll be up in
Boca
Raton - a side trip down to Key West would be about 200 miles, with
CN
about half way. I'm not sure we'll make it, but if Neal would like
to
put us up for a few days, we could be tempted! My daughter would
love
to go swimming off a boat again!

Stay with Neal? How old is your daughter?

Scotty

Jeff,

I hear what you're saying. I've kind of adopted the ancient's way of
solstice period. That is when the Sun seems to stop its movement South
or North.

You are right about the exact time. but there is the period in the
winter and in the summer when it takes a lot longer for the Sun to
change a Degree. It justs seems to hang in the sky. This period is the
Solstice Time.

Since I've fallen into the habit of taking my Noon Sights with an out
stretch arm and a closed fist the Solstice has kind of become a season
inside a season.

So, bear with an Old man and be happy that the Sun is taking a little
rest before the return trip back to us.

Ole Thom

Ole Tom describes a unique method of taking the noon sight of the
Sun.. holding out his arm and making a fist.
PLease tell us more details .. as to the precise methodology..

Could it be a good backup measure in the event the GPS fails..
or the se xtant bre aks.?

--
Longing to be closer to to the sun, the wind and the sea!
Spiritually at: Latitude 21 degrees 19' 9" North. _!_
Longtitude 157 degrees 56' 31" West. Aloha! ___o_(_)_o___
q

John,

It is rather simple, stick the thumb into the folded fingers to the
first knuckle and hold it at arms length. That will give you a 10 degree
spread. Each knuckle is two degrees. Top of the knuckle to the hollow
between 1 degree, half way up or down is a 1/2 degree. If your sighting
is between I say plus or minus. ( When voyaging, a 1/2 degree will get
you to 30 miles. A minus gets you inside 30, a plus over 30.

To Calib. your fist and arm, stand in the corner of a room and count how
many fist it takes to get 90 degrees. Ten should do it for most people
but it will let you know what your fist represents

Kind of a fun and easy way to check out things that are happening around
you.

So as of tomorrow the Sun will be 23 1/2 degrees below the Equator.
Subtract that from your local GMT Noon reading and you should have your
local Latitude.

Not sure where your located but St John is about 45 degrees (4&1/2
fists) minus
2 fists and 1 & 1/2 knuckles should be the local sighting (2 Fists and 1
knckle)
Give it a try and a laugh at Ole Thom