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Winter Solstice in the Panhandle
Lubbock, Texas USA
December 21, 2024 12:40 PM local time (16:40 UTC)
© 2024 J Pat Marse, All Rights Reserved.
The home we purchased last year in Lubbock, Texas provided us with a very pleasant surprise that became apparent in the fall near the end of our first November in residence. Having been a World Wide Panorama contributor since 2009 with the usual Solstice/Equinox event dates, I noticed that the sun's shadows with changing angles and directions were progressing daily in late November toward the top of the stairway that is just inside our front entry and leads down to the basement. The entry portico (which is barely high enough) and the glass entry door with the surrounding windows were starting to allow direct sunlight to shine through the doorway and onto the descending stairs toward the landing in the basement below. The city streets in Lubbock are laid out precisely with the NESW compass points and our house faces due south. As luck would have it, on the day of the winter solstice, direct rays of sunlight came straight down the stairs and onto the basement landing. In the days following the solstice, the stairs became less and less illuminated by the direct sun until by the end of January the sun had climbed high enough to not shine on the stairs at all.
Beware ALL Solstice Chasers: STAY AWAY!
Lat: 33° 30' 25.35" N
Long: 102° 56' 11.94" W
Precision is: Medium. Nearby, but not to the last decimal.
Canon 5D MkIV, Sigma 10mm (shaved), Nodal Ninja R1, PTGUI Pro v12.26, Pano2VR