Day of the longest shadow

Playing with what might have been some of the longest shadows they will make all year, University of Otago commerce and science students kick a ball around at the artificial turf at Logan Park in Dunedin about 3.45pm yesterday, the shortest day of the year. The day boasted eight hours and 42 minutes of sunlight in the city, with the sun setting just after 5pm.

According to timeanddate.com, today will be one second longer than yesterday, which was two seconds shorter than the previous day.

University of Otago senior lecturer in geography Dr Daniel Kingston, who studies weather and climate, said the shortest day was when the southern hemisphere was tilted furthest away from the sun.

The day would be shorter the further south you were, he said.

The sun would be the lowest in the sky it would be all year.

While the sun was out yesterday, an important factor in how warm it felt was how high the sun was in the sky, he said.