solstice

Yesterday marked the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year.

I'm fascinated by some of the solstice facts presented in the Boston Globe article The shortest day of the year has arrived:

In addition to receiving the least amount of sunlight possible, the winter solstice will also see the least amount of solar energy reaching the northern half of the planet. It’s also when the sun is at its lowest point in the sky at noon. If you look at the distance of the sun above the horizon at solar noon, or 11:42 a.m. Wednesday morning, it will only be 24.2 degrees above the horizon — that’s as high as it gets all day. That’s comparable with about 7:30 a.m. on summer’s first day.

That's why my eyes have been telling me that the light has been both angled and harsh.

While I know I won't notice the difference for quite a while, I'm happy to know the days will start to lengthen.