On Friday the sun sets at 5.02pm...
I'm already able, if running late in the morning, to ride in without illumination. Not be long now till the ride home is similarly bright.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Commuting
Post-5pm Sunset
(25 posts)-
Posted 11 years ago #
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Yes, came out the house at 7:30 the other morning and noticed light in the sky. Already, I don't really need lights by the time I get to Livingston about 8am. Once it starts changing, it changes quite quickly (I seem to recall seeing a sine curve sometime).
Posted 11 years ago # -
I'm so lazy I've not needed my lights in the morning fro ages unless its a PY morning or the weather is particularly bad.
Time to start getting up earlier and getting the camera out in the morning for that brief sunrise/commute convergence.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Thinking the same thing with the sunset/commute convergence - swans on Duddingston Loch are generally good models...
Posted 11 years ago # -
http://blog.blmweb.com/sunrisesunset-calculator
Probably won't need lights for next PY.
Posted 11 years ago # -
The day length gives a sine curve, but sunrise and sunset times don't...
Posted 11 years ago # -
Thinking the same thing with the sunset/commute convergence - swans on Duddingston Loch are generally good models...
Though both plans are somewhat reliant on it not being flat and dull and commuting times, unlike the rest of this week.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Is this a good time to point out I have new lights?? :D
Posted 11 years ago # -
@bdellar, is the sunset/rise times Sin/2 ??
Posted 11 years ago # -
@DaveC: you'll still need those for your SR attempt...
Posted 11 years ago # -
This is good news. The other night I was blinded by a cyclist coming into Balerno as I was walking up the street. Turned out was police constable. If cops don't dip to the left what hope is there for us?
Posted 11 years ago # -
'Tis lovely. In the morning I get the light and mist on the canal, in the evening I get ruddy light on the castle and Cargo...
And it's only February 6th, so thphbbbt to all folk who say it's always dark and dismal in Scotland
Posted 11 years ago # -
I've always had the impression that the day length sinusoidal curve thing explained it all beautifully. Minimum daylength at winter solstice, maximum at summer, and around these times the gradient of the curve is pretty flat so day length doesn't change much from day to day (which is why winter drags on for ages and you get lots of long summer evenings). Come the equinoxes, though, the gradient is at its maximum, so the day length is growing or shrinking the fastest. We're now approaching the equinox (it's about six weeks away) so day length is growing quickly and the speed it's growing is growing each day.
That's what I think, anyway. It may or may not be true. I have the benefit of education at a university particularly favoured by politicians, so I can make a pretty convincing case for something even when I haven't the faintest idea what I'm talking about...
Whether I'm spouting nonsense or not, it's still nice that it's getting noticeably lighter in the mornings!
Posted 11 years ago # -
Anyone else notice that the sunset is now DIRECTLY down Polwarth gardens as it hits the horizon? Amazing glare.
I've been in foot /on pavement past two days, so maybe not as bad when enbike.
Posted 11 years ago # -
For years I've had a smartpants answer to anyone commenting on the length of day: "Wow, it's almost like the axis of the Earth's rotation is tilted with the respect to the plane of its orbit round the Sun. Nah, must be witches."
This year I've found myself being amazed at the lightness of the post and pre-work sky and have said this line to Uberuce at least three times, hanging my head in shame as I do so and prompting nearby people to ask if I have a sore neck, unless I've happened to say it out loud.
Posted 11 years ago # -
and have said this line to Uberuce at least three times
I'm confused
Posted 11 years ago # -
I'm Uberuce.
<---Says so just there
Posted 11 years ago # -
@Uberuce just because we know how something works doesn't stop us commenting on it, does it?
Lovely red sunrise this morning. I was on the big bike and didn't have to bother turning up my front light for the out of town section, it was light enough when I got out of Balerno.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Or, indeed, from digging out the burning pitchforks and witch-dunking stool.
Posted 11 years ago # -
I always think that e sense of surprise (and gratitude) keeps us in touch with our past - if we're grateful for the return of longer days, imagine how our ancestors felt. Not only did they have little artificial light, but it also meant the return of a growing season and so the lives of their families. Must have been incredibly significant, even if it seems trite and obvious to (some of) us.
Posted 11 years ago # -
@SRD well put.
Posted 11 years ago # -
The 'return of daylight' is particularly significant for people working '9-5' indoors.
I think another reason that this is being discussed now is that yesterday was particularly clear so the amount/quality of light was much better than many recent days when lights were advisable before "lighting up time".
Posted 11 years ago # -
"The 'return of daylight' is particularly significant for people working '9-5' indoors."
No matter what the weather, I try to get out of the office, even if it's just a 20 minute trundle round the block, at lunchtime. Can't bear being stuck inside all day.
Posted 11 years ago # -
@Greenroofer - I used to think much the same, but I recently discovered that this isn't the case for the bulk of the year. Indeed, for *at least* 8 months of the year, the day either lengthens or shortens by around 4 minutes a day, 2 at each end. Therefore, aside from the two months around 21-Dec and two around 21-Jun, you can expect it to get a quarter of an hour lighter / darker each week at each end. This means that the lightness at 07:35 this morning will be how light it is at 07:20 this time next week. And you get an extra 15 minutes of light each week in the evening too. It's ace.
I did used to think that it would more gradually slow down as we came into mid-winter, but that just doesn't seem to be the case.
Source:
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/sunrise.html
Note: not only do I not have an education at an establishment favoured by politicians, I have a financial degree, which doesn't qualify me either to understand things like this, or indeed have any relevance to my job. I did study in Inverness though, so it's not all bad.
Posted 11 years ago #
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