Day 78 of 365 - The Tilt of the Axis
Something I was reading in a post about the winter solstice intrigued me, until I discovered it was erroneous. The writer was implying that at the exact time of the solstice, the earth would begin spinning in the opposite direction. What? Subsequently, I have spent a rather significant chunk of time looking up science information about the solstice, the sun and the earth's rotation.
My having to spend that much time to get some clarity is a good reason that, after my first year in university, I chose not to pursue a degree in science and changed paths. The labs in chemistry, physics and biology frequently stumped me. Often, after the lab assistant had explained something to me for the third time, I pretended that I understood, just because I was too embarrassed to admit that I still did not get it. I think the area of my brain that helps understand those details of science is dormant or underdeveloped.
However, I digress. The word solstice refers to the apparent standing still of the sun. This actually refers to it's vertical point of reference in relation to the earth. At the time of the winter solstice, the sun appears to briefly stand still at the lowest point on earth's horizon, before it slowly begins climbing in the sky again. At the summer solstice, the sun appears still briefly at it's highest point from the horizon.
Also, another common misconception is that the earth tilts on its axis seasonally towards or away from the sun. The angle of the earth axis is always the same, with very minor variations. What causes the seasonal changes is that, because of the earth tilt, as it moves around the sun over the course of the year, different parts of the earth are exposed to more sunlight than others. So, in winter the sun appears lower in the sky and shines less directly on our Northern Hemisphere, making it colder.
That is my current understanding. If I am incorrect, feel free to enlighten me, as long as you can explain it clearly and simply. :)
I was going to trash the whole idea of even writing a post about this until I realized that my confusion is kind of a metaphor for how our lives sometimes go off kilter. We may be sailing along, spinning on the axis of what seems like an authentic life and then life events throw us for a loop.
We may go through a period of time when things just don't make sense to us any more, when we seem to have lost our compass and our true north, when time stands still. That could happen when there is a death of someone close to us, when we lose a job or when we have an accident or illness, as examples.
How long it takes to find our axis again is different for each person. Generally it's easier if we have support, rather than doing it on our own. It also helps to have compassion for ourselves and to give ourselves permission slips to not be 'normal' for however long it takes.
Eventually, we will find a new orientation to life, perhaps becoming a different version of ourselves than we were before. The more years that we travel around the sun, the more we experience and understand these cycles of life. It seems to be a part of being human on this planet and something we can help one another discern.
My having to spend that much time to get some clarity is a good reason that, after my first year in university, I chose not to pursue a degree in science and changed paths. The labs in chemistry, physics and biology frequently stumped me. Often, after the lab assistant had explained something to me for the third time, I pretended that I understood, just because I was too embarrassed to admit that I still did not get it. I think the area of my brain that helps understand those details of science is dormant or underdeveloped.
However, I digress. The word solstice refers to the apparent standing still of the sun. This actually refers to it's vertical point of reference in relation to the earth. At the time of the winter solstice, the sun appears to briefly stand still at the lowest point on earth's horizon, before it slowly begins climbing in the sky again. At the summer solstice, the sun appears still briefly at it's highest point from the horizon.
Also, another common misconception is that the earth tilts on its axis seasonally towards or away from the sun. The angle of the earth axis is always the same, with very minor variations. What causes the seasonal changes is that, because of the earth tilt, as it moves around the sun over the course of the year, different parts of the earth are exposed to more sunlight than others. So, in winter the sun appears lower in the sky and shines less directly on our Northern Hemisphere, making it colder.
That is my current understanding. If I am incorrect, feel free to enlighten me, as long as you can explain it clearly and simply. :)
I was going to trash the whole idea of even writing a post about this until I realized that my confusion is kind of a metaphor for how our lives sometimes go off kilter. We may be sailing along, spinning on the axis of what seems like an authentic life and then life events throw us for a loop.
We may go through a period of time when things just don't make sense to us any more, when we seem to have lost our compass and our true north, when time stands still. That could happen when there is a death of someone close to us, when we lose a job or when we have an accident or illness, as examples.
How long it takes to find our axis again is different for each person. Generally it's easier if we have support, rather than doing it on our own. It also helps to have compassion for ourselves and to give ourselves permission slips to not be 'normal' for however long it takes.
Eventually, we will find a new orientation to life, perhaps becoming a different version of ourselves than we were before. The more years that we travel around the sun, the more we experience and understand these cycles of life. It seems to be a part of being human on this planet and something we can help one another discern.
Comments
Post a Comment