Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 32, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 December 1902 — The Winter Solstice. [ARTICLE]

The Winter Solstice.

Monday, December 22nd, was the date this year of the winter solstice, the day when the sun reaches the extreme southern end of the line, and runs on to the turn table to swing around to get ready for the return trip northward. A great many papers, including those of the large cities, announced that Sunday was the day/jf this solstice but if the editors had taken the trouble to look at an almanac for 1902 they would have learned better. This astronomical event ddes usually come on Dec. 21st, but in the process of keeping the calendar in jibe with the motions of the solar system, a cog was slipped in the year 1900, when leap-year was omitted, and that has been bringing the equinoxes and solstices about a day later than common, for some years past. Monday is theoretically the shortest day of the year the sun rising, on this latitude, at 7.21 a. m. and setting at 4.36 p. m, making the day’s length 9 hours and 15 minutes but as a matter of fact the sun stands on the turntable a whole week, oiling the bearings and filling the coal bunkers, and next Monday'tjv"’’'"— ’rpgth will be only one minute longer than yesterday was.