December 21, 2012 - Seattle's Last Sunrise

The last sunrise in Seattle, or at least the last sunrise on the Mayan calendar, and the first sunrise of winter as viewed from Kerry Park.  The December solstice occurs at 3:21pm PST in Seattle.  The north pole is tilted 23.5 degrees away from the sun.  It is the day of the year in the northern hemisphere that has the fewest hours of sunlight.  Above  the Arctic Polar Circle there will be 24 hours of darkness. In Seattle while the might not be visible today, the daylight will last 8 hours and 25 minutes, with sunset setting at 4:21pm.   

The new design, "Trees" by Nicole Commins on the top of the Space Needle is visible.  The design features three colors of evergreens in a dark green background.  The design received the most votes in a recent "Top This!" contest by the Space Needle and is the first public submitted design to appear on the Space Needle.  It is scheduled to remain in place through the spring of 2013.

December 21, 2011 - Solstice Eve Parallels

On the eve of the shortest day of the year the morning mist has risen from Seattle's Green Lake, but not quite from the surrounding neighborhoods.  An area of low clouds hide the morning sun, but they and their reflection provide a parallel peek at the blue sky above.

Winter Solstice officially arrives in Seattle at 9:30pm on Wednesday, December 21st (5:30am Greenwich Mean Time, Thursday, December 22nd) and marks the beginning of the shortest day of the year.  After the Winter Solstice the sun technically starts heading north, or moving higher in our skies, making for longer days.