December 21 is the winter solstice, when the southern half of Earth is tilted towards the sun and the north half is tilted away. So the US, UK and other northern places have their shortest daylight of the year, with the latest sunrise and earliest sunset. In fact, at the North Pole there’s no sunlight at ALL, day or night! The good news is, starting on December 22 everyone in the north will get more daylight each day.
Wee ones: If the sun sets today at 8 pm for you and sets at 6 pm in June, in which month do you get a later sunset?
Little kids: If your bedtime is always 10 minutes after sunset, and tonight the sun sets at 5:10 pm for you, when’s your bedtime today? Bonus: If spring starts 3 months from now, what month will that be?
Big kids: If today you got only 9 hours of sunlight, when was your sunrise and sunset if noon was right in the middle? Bonus: If you sleep for 8 of those dark hours without sunlight, how many dark hours are you awake for in the 24-hour day?
The sky’s the limit: If summer starts on June 20th only in leap years, like 2024, and on June 21st the rest of the time, on what date will it start in the year 2050?
Answers:
Wee ones: In December – so you must live south of the equator!
Little kids: At 5:20 pm. Bonus: In March.
Big kids: At 7:30 am and 4:30 pm. Bonus: 7 dark hours, because 9 hours of sunlight makes 15 dark hours, and 15 – 8 = 7.
The sky’s the limit: It will start on June 21st. 50 is not a multiple of 4, so 2050 can’t be, either.
