gman101
Member
I am posting this after reading in so many threads something that goes like this... "Well, where I live we don't get 12 - 12 til late September", and of course it relates to the flowering cycle of the plants.
Now, most of us know and understand that a plant determines when to flower based upon the shortening of the daylight hours, and not a specific day length like the often confused 12 - 12 used for indoor flowering. There are numerous discussions about that here and that is not the subject of this thread.
The intent is however to hopefully shed a little light on the timing of way the sun moves in the sky to those who may not know. I know there is some misunderstanding for sure by the many comments as I referenced above.
For all intent and purpose, the day which finally has the proverbial 12 - 12 is the same day everywhere in the northern hemisphere, this year it is Sept 25th. (for the purists out there I do understand it does vary, but by only one day from Anchorage to Miami). This may seem odd to some, but this is not the Autumnal Equinox, which is September 22 this year. (The equinox is when the sun's path through the sky is over the equator, and literally translated means 'equal night'. The days continually shorten in the northern hemisphere as the path of the sun through the sky heads south from June 21st to Dec. 21st)
What is different however is the relative rate of change in daylight hours from one day to the next. For example; tomorrow the 24th of August will be shorter than today, the 23rd, but the difference is greater the farther north you are. In Miami, it will be 1:23 shorter; in Madison WI it will be 2:43 shorter, and in Anchorage tomorrow will be a whopping 5:37 shorter. This, simply stated I hope, is how there can be longer days in the northern latitudes, but yet we all reach the approximate 12 - 12 at the same time.
I do also hope this is not inappropriate for this forum, but with all the comments I have read perhaps this can dispel some myths or help with someones understanding.
Now, most of us know and understand that a plant determines when to flower based upon the shortening of the daylight hours, and not a specific day length like the often confused 12 - 12 used for indoor flowering. There are numerous discussions about that here and that is not the subject of this thread.
The intent is however to hopefully shed a little light on the timing of way the sun moves in the sky to those who may not know. I know there is some misunderstanding for sure by the many comments as I referenced above.
For all intent and purpose, the day which finally has the proverbial 12 - 12 is the same day everywhere in the northern hemisphere, this year it is Sept 25th. (for the purists out there I do understand it does vary, but by only one day from Anchorage to Miami). This may seem odd to some, but this is not the Autumnal Equinox, which is September 22 this year. (The equinox is when the sun's path through the sky is over the equator, and literally translated means 'equal night'. The days continually shorten in the northern hemisphere as the path of the sun through the sky heads south from June 21st to Dec. 21st)
What is different however is the relative rate of change in daylight hours from one day to the next. For example; tomorrow the 24th of August will be shorter than today, the 23rd, but the difference is greater the farther north you are. In Miami, it will be 1:23 shorter; in Madison WI it will be 2:43 shorter, and in Anchorage tomorrow will be a whopping 5:37 shorter. This, simply stated I hope, is how there can be longer days in the northern latitudes, but yet we all reach the approximate 12 - 12 at the same time.
I do also hope this is not inappropriate for this forum, but with all the comments I have read perhaps this can dispel some myths or help with someones understanding.
