December Solstice

The December Solstice will occur at 10:03 a.m. EST on 21 December 2025, according to the Earth's Seasons - Equinoxes, Solstices, Perihelion, and Aphelion page, Astronomical Applications Department, U.S. Naval Observatory.

The Motions of the Sun Simulator can be used to explore the apparent motion of the Sun across the sky on the December Solstice. The following screenshot shows the simulator configured for 21 December at 12 noon. Be sure to set the "animation mode" for "continuous" and "loop day," as shown in the red rectangle on the graphic.

"Motions of the Sun Simulator" set for DEC 21.

Notice the Sun rises along the southeastern horizon and sets along the southwestern horizon. At Washington, D.C. (38.89° North latitude and 77.03° degrees West longitude) the Sun reaches a maximum altitude of ~28° above the horizon, the lowest maximum altitude all year.

Also notice the odd-looking figure eight that is shown in red on the preceding screenshot. It's called an analemma. The crest of the figure eight shows the Sun's maximum altitude on the June Solstice.

Related Resources

• Motions of the Sun Simulator
• Earth's Seasons - Equinoxes, Solstices, Perihelion, and Aphelion - Astronomical Applications Department, U.S. Naval Observatory
• Altitude and Azimuth of the Sun or Moon During One Day - Astronomical Applications Department, U.S. Naval Observatory

Copyright © 2025 by Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Sky Lapse 360 © 2025 - 04 December 2025

The following panoramic time lapse video was taken during the afternoon of 04 December 2025, soon after shooting the pair of panoramic composite images featured in my last blog post.

04 December 2025. Panoramic view.

The sky was filled with a variety of higher cirroform and lower stratiform clouds, moving from southwest to northeast across the sky.

Tech Tips

The precedinging panoramic time lapse video was taken using my GoPro HERO4 Black action camera mounted on a "360TL" rotating timer. The camera was set for "Video" mode / "Time Lapse Video" submode, using a resolution of 4K and an interval of two (2) seconds.

Related Resource

Halo - a blog post by Walter Sanford (hey, that's me!), featuring panoramic composite images of the sky from the same day as the panoramic time lapse video shown above.

Copyright © 2025 by Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Halo

A halo around the Sun or Moon means precipitation in 12-24 hours, according to weather folklore. Turns out the prediction was correct as light snow fell the next day.

04 December 2025. Halo around the Sun. (15540 x 3832 pixels)

Another panoramic composite image was taken facing in the opposite direction.

04 December 2025. Facing north. (14468 x 3376 pixels)

The next two photos were "misfires" when I started a "Pano" shot accidentally. Twice. The weather was cold and windy -- my fingers were frozen! (That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.) I kept the photos because they show cirrocumulus clouds (Cc) especially well.

04 December 2025.

04 December 2025.

Tech Tips

The preceding panoramic composite images were taken using the "Camera" app on my Apple iPad mini 6, set for "Pano" mode. Both images show a wide view along the horizon.

Here's how to capture very wide views of the sky. Start recording and rotate the iPad camera slowly and steadily on a tripod -- the slower you rotate the camera, the wider your "Pano" will be. Keep rotating the camera until the white arrow (on-screen guide) goes as far as it can -- at that point the recording will stop automatically.

I suggest you record a wider view than you need/want. For better composition, you can crop the image to remove distracting elements from the left and right sides of the composite image.

Related Resources

• Halo Phenomena | International Cloud Atlas - World Meteorological Organization
• What Causes Halos, Sundogs, and Sun Pillars? - National Weather Service [USA]
• Atmospheric Optical Phenomena (except Rainbows and Aurora) - Colorado State University [USA]
• Cirrocumulus (Cc) | International Cloud Atlas - World Meteorological Organization

Copyright © 2025 by Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Sunset - 22 November 2025

The following panoramic time lapse video was taken just before sunset using my GoPro HERO4 Black action camera mounted on a "360TL" rotating timer. The camera was set for "Video" mode / "Time Lapse Video" submode, using a resolution of 4K and an interval of two (2) seconds. 

22 November 2025. Facing southwest.

Sunset occurred at 4:50 pm EST on 22 November 2025, according to the Table of Sunrise/Sunset, Moonrise/Moonset, or Twilight Times for an Entire Year, Astronomical Applications Department, U.S. Naval Observatory.

Motions of the Sun Simulator

Two motions -- the rotation of the Earth around its axis, and the revolution of the Earth around the Sun -- cause daily- and annual cycles in the Sun's apparent path across the sky. Every day, the Sun appears to move across the sky from east to west as the Earth rotates counterclockwise. And from day-to-day, the apparent path of the Sun across the sky changes slowly due to the tilt of the Earth's axis and the Earth's revolution around the Sun.

The Motions of the Sun Simulator can be used for open-ended exploration of daily and annual motions of the Sun. The following screenshot shows the simulator configured for 22 November at 12 noon. Notice the Sun rises along the southeastern horizon and sets along the southwestern horizon.

Motions of the Sun Simulator. 22 November.

Related Resources

• A pair of panos - a blog post by Walter Sanford, featuring panoramic composite images of the sky from the same day as the sunset panoramic time lapse video shown above
• Sky Lapse 360 © 2025 - 22 November 2025 - another blog post by Walter Sanford, featuring a panoramic time lapse video of the sky from the same day as the sunset video shown above
• Motions of the Sun Simulator
• The Earth revolves in an orbit around the Sun - George F. Cram globe company [courtesy of the Wayback Machine]

Copyright © 2025 by Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.