The two are very different. Why? Is it the angle of the sun’s rays? The light reflecting off green (vegetation) instead of white (snow)? Duh!! What is it?
It’s not my imagination.
You’re right, you’re not imagining it. The earth tilts on its axis from season to season, and if you live in the north or south temperate zone (as opposed to on the equator), the sun’s rays are going to hit the earth at a different angle in the summer and winter, hence the difference in light.
And isn’t the difference of amount of blue in relation to other colors larger because the light passes through more air and is scattered more?
Thanks, Duck Duck Goose – I’ve never understood light and color and prisms and refraction and all that stuff, but it’s fascinating.
Decided while cleaning up the kitchen tonight that I like winter light best – it doesn’t show the dust as much as summer light. In June, I see miniscule “things” embedded in my kitchen countertop that shouldn’t exist in a sane world.
Bet’cha Martha Stewart likes summer light.
Here in Massachusetts, the sun rises 71 degrees above the horizon in the summer and is above the horizon for 15 hours a day. In the winter, the sun only rises 25 degrees above the horizon and is up less than 9 hours a day.
Even though there was “snow” on the ground, the sun was so high and bright in “Christmas Vacation” that I knew it was filmed between April and August.
Bizerta – it took awhile, but with the help of an orange (the earth) and a basketball (the sun), I think I got it figured out.
Wood Thrush – the blue theory is interesting too.
I’m starting to wish I hadn’t skipped so much junior high science.
AuntiePam said :
It’s okay, seems a lot of people forget that stuff too. My sister taught high-school science for a while, and had a tape about learning. In an informal survey, a very high number of college graduates couldn’t explain that this (difference in light) was the cause of seasons.
panama jack
Eccl. 1:5 : The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.
I think there are many factors involved. The difference in angle is a major reason, but that doesn’t explain why summer sunlight at 3pm looks different from winter light at noon. It’s not just the color of the direct sunlight - the diffuse light makes a huge difference because that’s what lights the shadows. A hazy summer sky adds a lot of diffuse white light, while a clear blue winter sky only adds a little bit of blue light. Similarly, diffuse light from a snow-covered ground is very different from light from a bare or grass-covered ground.
Still, I can’t explain why summer light shows your kitchen counter dust better. Is this in direct sunlight? Is it possible that your kitchen is really cleaner in winter because of fewer bugs flying, less dust in the air, etc.?
Just a friendly nit to pick…The Earth’s axis is tilted. As the Earth orbits the sun, a particular latitude receives sunlight at different angles over the year because of this tilt, thus causing the seasons. (i.e., the tilt doesn’t change over the year…it’s always the same 23.5 degrees off perpendicular) This is probably what you meant but I wanted to clarify “the earth tilts on its axis from season to season”
You will also notice in photographs that the “whites” in winter pictures, not snow, will often have a warmer look to them. While the same type of photo taken in the summer will look cooler in color temperature. The color of light changes significantly from sunrise through noon to sunset too.
We often don’t notice the difference because our brain “adjusts” to what we think it should look like.
Did you ever notice that winter pictures taken under a clear shy in the shade look so blue?
Gary