Happy Winter Solstice! Yes, today is the day when (in ancient times) folks would take a picnic and travel to Stonehenge to watch the sunrise and druids dance and frolic. There’d be clapping and hugs and aliens moving the stones around. It was a festival where everyone was overjoyed that the days would get longer.Because the aliens were adding minutes to the day giving back those minutes they stole during the first half of the year. We believe these minutes their fuel for when they time traveled (warning: may be historically and scientifically incorrect, please check other sources before quoting)
So as the Earth goes around the Sun on its tilted axis, sometimes the top of the Earth is pointed more towards the Sun, and sometimes the bottom. When the top is pointing towards the Sun a bunch of that solar energy warms that half and for the US it’s Summer. When the bottom part of the Earth is pointing, the people on that part get that energy, so it is winter in the U.S. (energy kinda = heat) The Earth doesn’t slow down to make the “days longer.” Days are always around 24 hours. It’s just which side is getting more light. The days are “shorter” because we have less daylight. In the Summer the days are longer which just means we get more daylight and more solar energy. This ends your Science lesson today, boys and girls, make sure to do your homework…