Revised and updated 18 December 2025 July 25, is one of the four days a year in which the length of the solar day, the natural day measured by the rising and setting of the Sun, is 24 hours. I have written about this in previous posts but I thought it be worth mentioning it… Continue reading Understanding Solar Day Length Variation
In this post I’ll talk about the measurement of time and the use of time zones throughout the world. This is particularly topical at this time of year. In the early hours of Sunday 27 October the clocks go back an hour throughout the EU as Europe switches to winter time. The natural day There… Continue reading Time and time zones
Updated November 23 2025 Most people are probably unaware of this but the length of a solar day, which is the natural day measured by the rising and setting of the Sun isn't always 24 hours. It varies slightly throughout the course of the year and the days in mid September are the shortest solar days in… Continue reading How the length of a day changes over the year
February 12, known as Darwin Day, is significant for both Charles Darwin's and Abraham Lincoln's birthdays, but it also marks an important astronomical event. On this day in 2026, the solar time is 14 minutes behind clock time, the greatest value of the year, with solar noon occurring shortly after 12:14 PM in London.
Explaining Science 