Winter Solstice: Far worse on Uranus

Solstice Shadows    (Public Domain)

In the Northern Hemisphere of Planet Earth, Winter Solstice means cold and short periods of daylight.  This can be depressing, especially for those with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

Nevertheless, SAD can be far sadder on other planets.  Our daylight is fairly evenly dispersed throughout the year, due to Earth’s 23.5-degree tilt.  This allows the Northern Hemisphere (as well as the Southern) to “spend half the year… bathing in direct sunlight… and half the year cooling off…”  Neither Earth’s warmer nor cooler seasons have been extreme enough

to destroy all life.

Don’t bet your bottom microbes on Uranus, however.  “An axial tilt of 98 degrees causes the ice giant to spin on its side.”  Because it takes “84 Earth years” for Uranus “to orbit the sun,” its tilt results in decades of frigid darkness, followed by decades of broiling

sunlight. 

So thank your lucky sun and your lucky planet’s moderate tilt next time you’re feeling the effects of winter’s wrath. 

Resources

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/20/science/winter-solstice-december-21.html

Copyright December 21, 2017 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved