3 ms·
The sun in northern countries in summer is less intense?
by codethief 3mo ago
The sun in northern countries in summer is less intense?
- pdonis 3mo agoYes, because it's lower in the sky so more of the UV in it gets absorbed by the atmosphere before reaching the ground. For example, in Florida in the summer, the sun is close to directly overhead at noon. In Scandinavia in the summer, the sun is only about halfway up the sky from the horizon at noon.
- NoPicklez 3mo agoCome to Australia during the summer and watch how quickly you burn outside without sunscreen.
- tremon 3mo agoYes, it's crazy to consider how far north Earth's entire land mass is skewed. Australia is basically the southernmost landmass (apart from Tierra del fuego), yet it is located squarely under the Tropic of Capricorn; at the same distance north of the equator (Tropic of Cancer), you've merely reached Mexico, the Sahara desert, and the Himalayas.
- pocksuppet 3mo agoMost of Europe is at the latitudes of Canada. The whole UK is squarely north of Vancouver. https://vividmaps.com/comparing-latitude-of-europe-and-america/ https://vividmaps.com/comparing-latitude-of-europe-and-ameri...
- pseudohadamard 3mo agoFor non-Australians, that's burn as in "burst into flames", not "your skin goes red". Go to somewhere like Cairns and you can hear people crackling as they walk down the street.
- NoPicklez 3mo agoSmells like pork everywhere
- SJC_Hacker 3mo agoOnly for fair skinned individuals
- folkrav 3mo agoDark skin typically provides a protection equivalent to a ~10 SPF. Meaning some protection, but tons of the actual damaging UVB still going through.
- red-iron-pine 3mo agowhich is like 2/3 of the Oz -- rampant skin cancer happens when you export the palest people on earth, anglo-irish-scots, to an unrelenting desert
- teiferer 3mo agoThat'a not just the angle though, it's an issue with the ozone layer too, right?
- xdavidliu 3mo agoless intense than in countries near equator, not less intense than winter
- Broken_Hippo 3mo agoYeah, kinda. I moved from Indiana to Norway - Trondheim, which is about in the middle of the length of Norway. During the summer, I can read outside at night even though the sun technically goes down for about 4 hours in June. It never gets darker than twilight. A few clouds means you might just have sunset all night. The sun does get surprisingly hot and very warming if we happen to have a sunny day. Jacket in the shade, short sleeves in the sun even though it is 18C/65F. The reason for this is that the sun is at a low angle, so it hits more of your body than it does when the sun is overhead - like you'd get in Australia. This also means that while you need some sunscreen during the day - from about 10 to 5 - it doesn't burn as much. It is less intense in that way - but it just feels different. During December, days are 4 hours of very weak light.
- picofarad 3mo agoHuh now I know why I never liked living in Washington and Oregon, especially at higher altitudes. The sun always felt hotter.
- zippyman55 3mo agoI summer in California and winter in Washington for that reason!
- TeMPOraL 3mo ago> The reason for this is that the sun is at a low angle, so it hits more of your body than it does when the sun is overhead - like you'd get in Australia. This also means that while you need some sunscreen during the day - from about 10 to 5 - it doesn't burn as much. Not sure if I parse this correctly - I'd imagine you need more sunscreen at "low angles" due to more severe and longer exposure? Low angle -> more body surface area exposed directly at near-right angle to Sun -> more direct absorption -> more sunscreen needed?
- Dansvidania 3mo agoat lower angles the sun light needs to go through a much bigger "cross section" of atmosphere which greatly reduces its energy. This is why noon sun is the most dangerous.
- deleted 3mo ago[deleted]
- ludicrousdispla 3mo agoI found this resource which shows that sun intensity in June in northern Europe is similar to that in sub-Saharan Africa (in June). https://physics.weber.edu/schroeder/ua/EarthCirclesAndSunRays.png https://physics.weber.edu/schroeder/ua/EarthCirclesAndSunRay... https://physics.weber.edu/schroeder/ua/SunAndSeasons.html https://physics.weber.edu/schroeder/ua/SunAndSeasons.html
- HPsquared 3mo agoAt the equator, the sun is highest at the equinoxes (March and September) and lowest at the solstices. Outside the tropics, the sun is highest at the summer solstice (June or December) and lowest at the winter solstice.
- SJC_Hacker 3mo agoExactly at the equator the sun is directly overhead (90 degrees) at a single time point (close to 12 on depending on where you are within the time zone) every single day The only thing that varies over the year is the path it takes to get there. At the solstices (summer/winter) the path curvature is maximal while t the equinoxes (spring/fall) it is a straight line.
- teiferer 3mo agoSorry that's just obviously false. It's only directly above you at the equinoxes, so twice a year. Otherwise it has traveled further north or south. Before everything was an app, people had physical globes at home which could illustrate this very well.