spot_img
29 C
Philippines
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Longest night happens Dec. 21

- Advertisement -

THE Philippines will experience this year’s longest night and shortest day on Wednesday when the winter solstice will occur, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.

Pagasa astronomy chief Dario dela Cruz said the sun will be at its southernmost position at 6:44 p.m. of Wednesday as seen from Earth so the night will be longest for the year.

Dela Cruz said the year’s longest night duration will vary in areas north of the equator and the night will be longer in areas that are farther from the equator.

“In the Philippines’ case, that means the duration of the longest night will be most lengthy in extreme Northern Luzon and shortest in Mindanao,” he noted.

Solstice is the astronomical event during which the sun is at its greatest northerly or southerly distance from the equator, the imaginary line dividing Earth into the northern and southern hemispheres.

- Advertisement -

Dela Cruz said during this month’s solstice, night will be about 13 hours and five minutes long in Basco municipality, capital of extreme Northern Luzon’s Batanes province. Night then in Metro Manila will last about 12 hours and 46 minutes, he said.

For the Visayas’ Cebu City, he said night will be about 12 hours, 28 minutes long.

General Santos City in Mindanao will experience night that is about 12 hours, 14 minutes long, he said, noting that the duration of night is measured beginning sunset.

He also said that the duration of day during the December 2016 solstice will be only about 10 hours, 55 minutes in Basco; 11 hours, 14 minutes in Metro Manila; 11 hours, 32 minutes in Cebu City; and 11 hours, 46 minutes in General Santos City. 

- Advertisement -

LATEST NEWS

Popular Articles