Forest Path
by Jon Burch Photography
Title
Forest Path
Artist
Jon Burch Photography
Medium
Photograph - Digital Capture And Enhancement
Description
The first day of fall in North America officially began at 2:44 PM on September 22 this year. It's a precise time measured by the apparent passage of the Sun through an observer's zenith if standing on the imaginary line called the equator delineating the two hemispheres.
This means that if you are located south of the equator, the Sun will pass through your zenith twice before the first day of spring or vernal equinox next March. Of course, if your location is further south than the Tropic of Capricorn at 23.5 degrees south, the Sun will never be at your zenith so you won't have to look straight up to see it.
The days in the northern hemisphere grow progressively shorter while the reverse is true on opposite side of the equator. The Sun will rise and set further and further south on the horizon until it reaches its maximum southern declination around December 21st officially named the Winter Solstice. Then, it will steadily climb higher in the sky again crossing the equator again on the Vernal Equinox. At that point, the daylight hours will continue to grow longer in the northern hemisphere and shorter in the southern until the Sun reaches a maximum of 23.5 degrees north of the equator above the Tropic of Cancer around the Summer Solstice in June.
Finally, in the following quarter of the year, the Sun will again approach the equator arriving above it at noon on or around the Autumn Equinox again. And so the cycle continues.
This image was made along the Cub Lake Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park in northern Colorado last fall before the road to the area was closed by the 2013 floods. This image is copyrighted by Jon Burch Photography. Happy Fall - or Spring, whichever hemisphere you happen to be in.
Image copyright 2013 Jon Burch Photography
Uploaded
September 23rd, 2013
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