well, March in Phoenix can seem like summer, February like Spring. Fall in mid
November, winter in December :)
However even Arizona has an artificial set of dates now for the monsoon. The
monsoon used to be defined by several days in a row of high humidity, and end
some tome later. That was logical. However far too complicated for the masses,
so now, rain or no rain, monsoon has a fixed calendar span. Oh well.
Simonwww.illustratingshadows.comPhoenix, AZ
Sent via the Samsung Galaxy Alpha™, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone
-------- Original message --------
From: Michael Ossipoff <[email protected]>
Date: 04/06/2016 14:40 (GMT-07:00)
To: John Pickard <[email protected]>, sundial list
<[email protected]>
Subject: Re: It's still summer in Sydney (or is it?)
On Sun, Mar 6, 2016 at 2:52 PM, John Pickard <[email protected]> wrote:
Good morning all (and especially those in the Northern Hemisphere still stuck
in winter),
The following letter appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald (Saturday 5 March
2016, p. 39)
"Still summer in Sydney.
It's hard not to be amused by the apparently genuine surprise expressed this
past week - mainly by television weather presenters - at the high temperatures
being recorded around the country 'in the first week of autumn'. I'm not sure
which authority declared that autumn starts on March 1
In the U.S., our astronomers have proclaimed that summer begins with the summer
solstice, and that spring begins wit the spring equinox. ...proclaimed with
absolutely no justification. It's become our national definition of the
seasons. I guess anything can mean anything if you define it that way.
But, obvious to everyone (other than our astronomers and the newscasters who
parrot them), by the time June 21 arrives, it has been summer for a long time.
It would be much more in keeping with our experience with the seasons to say
that Summer begins when June begins.
...and guess what? That's what they say in Australia. Australia doesn't share
our ridiculous notion of starting the seasons on the solstices and equinoxes.
In Australia, it's understood that Summer begins when December begins, and that
Winter begins when June begins.
But evidently it's still assumed that there are 4 seasons of equal length.
Here in the U.S., it's obvious that March isn't spring. Yes, there are often _a
few_ occasional indications that spring is approaching. But, realistically,
March would be better included in Winter, if we insist on 4 seasons. Likewise,
September tends to be a very summer-like.
If we must have 4 months, then it would be less inaccurate to say that winter
is December, January, February and March. ...and that summer is June, July,
August and September. Spring is April and May. Autumn is October and November.
But, more realistically, because March can have _a few_ days that somewhat
preview spring (maybe with floral scents), March might better be called
"Pre-Spring". Likewise, September might be better-called "Pre-Autumn"., because
there does begin to be a bit of cooling later in September. So, instead of 4
seasons, there are 6. ...with March and September being 1-month seasons.
The notion of 6 seasons isn't new. It's been proposed by people who specialize
in these matters. ; however the change of seasons is an immutable astronomical
event...
Incorrect. The seasons of course result from astronomical causes, but they
aren't validly defined by astronomical events, such as equinoxes and solstices.
resulting from a shift in the earth's axis each three months on the two
equinoxes and the two solstices, which coincide with the human invented
calendar dates of (approximately) March and September 21; and June and December
21.
Human-invented yes. U.S. astronomer-invented (and media broadcaster parroted).
So it has not been an amazingly hot start to "autumn'; it is still summer and
will be for nearly three more weeks.
Of course. If you're going to define 4 seasons, then March is part of Southern
Hemisphere summer. December through March.
But it would make even more sense to speak of March and September as 1-month
seasons, as described above.
Michael Ossipoff
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