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The changing daylight hours thread


Boydie

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Posted
  • Location: Berlin, Germany
  • Weather Preferences: Ample sunshine; Hot weather; Mixed winters with cold and mild spells
  • Location: Berlin, Germany

Yes I sometimes feel I take my life into my hands during the horrendous evening rush hours just after the clock move and into November. Truly dire with many not used to driving in the dark yet, unlit cyclists, the busiest time of the year on the roads around here, autumn debris everywhere ready to knock you off and then maybe even ice thrown in the mix!

It's not all mellow mists & wrapping up in front of a warm fire...

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Posted
  • Location: Runcorn, Cheshire
  • Weather Preferences: Snowy winters, hot, sunny springs and summers.
  • Location: Runcorn, Cheshire

It's pretty mad here in Benalmadena at the minute. The sun doesn't rise until 7:30am, but it's effects are instantly felt. It then sets around half past 9. Not what I'm used to, but it's nice. :)

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Posted
  • Location: Leeds
  • Weather Preferences: snow, heat, thunderstorms
  • Location: Leeds

It's not all mellow mists & wrapping up in front of a warm fire...

 

Remind me - who said it was?

 

Some of us just see the positives in all seasons, and prefer not to fixate on the negatives constantly. Some of us prefer not to be depressed if we can help it..!

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Posted
  • Location: Berlin, Germany
  • Weather Preferences: Ample sunshine; Hot weather; Mixed winters with cold and mild spells
  • Location: Berlin, Germany

I find positives too - its just that particular period I find one of the toughest of the year. Darkness really taking over the day & the beginning of 4 months of it. If I were to draw a graph of happiness November and January would certainly be the troughs but with a nice recovery for December.

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Posted
  • Location: Shrewsbury
  • Location: Shrewsbury

Haven't really noticed it at all. Still light past 9pm.

 

Astronomical twilight throughout the night has ended here though.

One thing I noticed the other night was just how many more stars are visible now than in June. Even with the streetlights turned off at midnight it's difficult to see naked-eye down to 4th magnitude near the solstice, now I can get down to 5th. And the Milky Way through Cygnus is much clearer, with the dark rift easily seen.

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Posted
  • Location: Berlin, Germany
  • Weather Preferences: Ample sunshine; Hot weather; Mixed winters with cold and mild spells
  • Location: Berlin, Germany

Can't argue there - winter is by far the best time for astronomy despite how much you need to wrap up to enjoy it!

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Posted
  • Location: Purley, Surrey - 246 Ft ASL
  • Weather Preferences: January 1987 / July 2006
  • Location: Purley, Surrey - 246 Ft ASL

Yes I sometimes feel I take my life into my hands during the horrendous evening rush hours just after the clock move and into November. Truly dire with many not used to driving in the dark yet, unlit cyclists, the busiest time of the year on the roads around here, autumn debris everywhere ready to knock you off and then maybe even ice thrown in the mix!

It's not all mellow mists & wrapping up in front of a warm fire...

 

You could not cycle during this period?

 

Bus, car, walk, train?

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Posted
  • Location: Irlam
  • Location: Irlam

Haven't really noticed it at all. Still light past 9pm. Astronomical twilight throughout the night has ended here though.

Slightly surprised as I have definitely noticed it. It was evident last night how dark it was at 10pm despite the clear skies.
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Posted
  • Location: South Yorkshire
  • Location: South Yorkshire

 

People forget sweating is actually good for your skin...

 

It's only good for you if you're too damn hot in the first place, like saying water is good for fire! Hair-splitting time... the thread title refers to nights drawing in, but I see it as the nights drawing out, as in expanding and getting longer. In spring they draw in, as in shrink and contract. What say you? On the other hand, nights drawing in could imply that as they lengthen they are closing in on and enveloping the person so is just as valid! Ah,words eh?

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Posted
  • Location: Berlin, Germany
  • Weather Preferences: Ample sunshine; Hot weather; Mixed winters with cold and mild spells
  • Location: Berlin, Germany

You could not cycle during this period?

 

Bus, car, walk, train?

 

It's a 15 min cycle to work or a 25-30 min walk or a 10 min walk + 10 min bus journey or 15-20 min drive (traffic+limited routes) but I don't own a car anyway. My options are limited... Even in the snow/ice I'll try to cycle although sometimes I'm forced to walk.

 

I do like the cycling and winter cycling improves loads after early December when traffic volumes drop a bit. I cycle right through an area 90% students and the university is a lot of the traffic with the autumn term is by far the busiest. They're off mid Dec to mid Jan then exams keep them revising a lot till end of month. Soon after in Feb the light returns so things improve anyway. 

It's just that post clock move to second week of Dec that's the worst. Although with major work going on to build a new tram line it might go on longer this time.

Of course at the moment its practically a ghost town - no students & half the work force on holiday. I can cross what are normally the busiest of roads without waiting for the lights quite often at the moment!

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Posted
  • Location: Berlin, Germany
  • Weather Preferences: Ample sunshine; Hot weather; Mixed winters with cold and mild spells
  • Location: Berlin, Germany

It's only good for you if you're too damn hot in the first place, like saying water is good for fire! Hair-splitting time... the thread title refers to nights drawing in, but I see it as the nights drawing out, as in expanding and getting longer. In spring they draw in, as in shrink and contract. What say you? On the other hand, nights drawing in could imply that as they lengthen they are closing in on and enveloping the person so is just as valid! Ah,words eh?

 

Probably because it getting darker earlier feels like something closing in - approaching and closing in... trapping you into short daylight hours... In spring they draw out - releasing you into the freedom of daylight...

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Posted
  • Location: Eastbourne, East Sussex (work in Mid Sussex)
  • Location: Eastbourne, East Sussex (work in Mid Sussex)

It's also been relatively (after the last few weeks) cloudy over the last 3 or 4 days down here and I think that general lack of bright light adds to the feeling of the shorter days.

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Posted
  • Location: London
  • Location: London

Probably because it getting darker earlier feels like something closing in - approaching and closing in... trapping you into short daylight hours... In spring they draw out - releasing you into the freedom of daylight...

 

British people tend to be sedentary and insular by nature. They genuinely do not like being out there with strange people and away from TV, internet, fire and fridge.

 

Daylight isn't "freedom", it ruins their preferred lifestyle.

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Posted
  • Location: Berlin, Germany
  • Weather Preferences: Ample sunshine; Hot weather; Mixed winters with cold and mild spells
  • Location: Berlin, Germany

British people tend to be sedentary and insular by nature. They genuinely do not like being out there with strange people and away from TV, internet, fire and fridge.

 

Daylight isn't "freedom", it ruins their preferred lifestyle.

Haha you know what - that is true in a lot of cases! The social interaction you get in placed like Spain or Italy is just unheard of here. Guess our climate has pushed that on us really with things like al fresco dining being quite a brief thing here.

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Posted
  • Location: just south of Doncaster, Sth Yorks
  • Location: just south of Doncaster, Sth Yorks

maybe the title of the thread should be nights getting longer and the days shorter?

 

Does that staisfy the purists?

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Posted
  • Location: Sunderland
  • Weather Preferences: cold
  • Location: Sunderland

I generally like long days and short nights, but when August/September comes, I feel more festive and love long, colder nights. Generally from September to January, as the novelty wears off during January and I don't care much for February/March cold- around then I want the sun back.

But definitely between bonfire night and new year's day, I love the long nights, crisp coldness, can go on long walks/bike rides or play football/tennis without sweating/tiring, and the snow just makes the nights more incredible.

I also love the unique feeling of walking to and from school when the sun's rising and especially when it's falling, I remember that in Nov/Dec 2010, probably the best 30-odd days of weather I'll ever experience.

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Posted
  • Location: Darlington
  • Weather Preferences: Warm dry summers
  • Location: Darlington

4 months and 15 days from today it will be the shortest day

 

4 months and 16 days from today the nights will start to get shorter again very slowly though its towards the end of January (last  week) when it becomes more noticeable as the sun doesn't set till after 16:30

Edited by Summer Sun
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Posted
  • Location: Purley, Surrey - 246 Ft ASL
  • Weather Preferences: January 1987 / July 2006
  • Location: Purley, Surrey - 246 Ft ASL

Haha you know what - that is true in a lot of cases! The social interaction you get in placed like Spain or Italy is just unheard of here. Guess our climate has pushed that on us really with things like al fresco dining being quite a brief thing here.

 

It won us two World Wars.

 

If we had been having Siestas and Al Fresco dining........well I dread to think! Posted Image

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Posted
  • Location: halifax 125m
  • Weather Preferences: extremes the unusual and interesting facts
  • Location: halifax 125m

4 months and 15 days from today it will be the shortest day

 

4 months and 16 days from today the nights will start to get shorter again very slowly though its towards the end of January (last  week) when it becomes more noticeable as the sun doesn't set till after 16:30

you may want to check that.the shortest day is December 21st,the earliest sunset is December 12th or 13th and the latest sunrise is December 29th, meaning the nights have actually been getting longer for over a week before the shortest day,yet the mornings get darker after the shortest day.......by minutes only though!

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Posted
  • Location: Darlington
  • Weather Preferences: Warm dry summers
  • Location: Darlington

you may want to check that.the shortest day is December 21st,the earliest sunset is December 12th or 13th and the latest sunrise is December 29th, meaning the nights have actually been getting longer for over a week before the shortest day,yet the mornings get darker after the shortest day.......by minutes only though!

 

Up here we have a run of 8 days when the sun sets at 15:39

 

December 10th to December 17th inclusive

 

Day light hours on December 10th for here is 7h 23m 16s

 

Day light hours on December 21st for here is 7h 15m 22s

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Posted
  • Location: N.Bedfordshire, E.Northamptonshire
  • Weather Preferences: Cool not cold, warm not hot. No strong Wind.
  • Location: N.Bedfordshire, E.Northamptonshire

Your location does mean the daylight change is faster/slower/pauses for some at different times.

 

 

I do not need it yet but will be needing my "white daylight" light soon for doing my watercolour painting.

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Posted
  • Location: Ampthill Bedfordshire
  • Location: Ampthill Bedfordshire

I find positives too - its just that particular period I find one of the toughest of the year. Darkness really taking over the day & the beginning of 4 months of it. If I were to draw a graph of happiness November and January would certainly be the troughs but with a nice recovery for December.

exactly it's only 4 months out of 12 so it's not that long really is it, im not bothered about the dark in winter it's cold and dull anyway so you can't do much, i don't like it getting dark earlish in september and october when its can still be warm though

Edited by Tony27
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Posted
  • Location: Edmonton Alberta(via Chelmsford, Exeter & Calgary)
  • Weather Preferences: Sunshine and 15-25c
  • Location: Edmonton Alberta(via Chelmsford, Exeter & Calgary)

i hate getting up in the dark...i get up for work at 5.30am and my brief 3 month stint of getting up when it is light is rapidly drawing to a close..sunrise is now past 6am here..was 5.20am in June..so for me the sun has gone for another year and im getting up in the twilight..another two weeks or so and the twilight will be gone and its back to total darkness then here in Alberta winter and the first snow is only a month awayPosted Image

Edited by cheeky_monkey
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Posted
  • Location: HANDSWORTH BIRMINGHAM B21. 130MASL. 427FT.
  • Weather Preferences: WINTERS WITH HEAVY DISRUPTIVE SNOWFALL AVRAGE SPRING HOT SUMMERS.
  • Location: HANDSWORTH BIRMINGHAM B21. 130MASL. 427FT.

it's noticeable evenings and mornings too. I c uk weather watch already started talking about winter 2013 2014.

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Posted
  • Location: Leicester
  • Location: Leicester

Me and my friends were also talking about this about 2 and a half hours ago! All of us were at the pub and it had got dark at 20:45 we weren't expecting it to get dark until around half 9ish completely forgot how the nights are starting to draw in! I'm glad someone started a thread an now I know it wasn't just us who'd noticed.

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