                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2024 December 21

                              A Year in Sunsets
                     Image Credit & Copyright: Wael Omar

   Explanation: A year in sunsets, from April 2023 to March 2024, track
   along the western horizon in these stacked panoramic views. The
   well-planed sequence is constructed of images recorded near the 21st
   day of the indicated month from the same location overlooking Cairo,
   Egypt. But for any location on planet Earth the yearly extreme northern
   (picture right) and southern limits of the setting Sun mark the
   solstice days. The word solstice is from Latin for "Sun" and "stand
   still". On the solstice date the seasonal drift of the Sun's daily path
   through the sky appears to pause and reverse direction in its annual
   celestial journey. Of course the Sun reaches a stand still on today's
   date. The 21 December 2024 solstice at 09:21 UTC is the moment of the
   Sun's southernmost declination, the start of astronomical winter in the
   north and summer in the south.

                    Tomorrow's picture: just local fluff
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

