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IMAGE TO ACCOMPANY: January 20, 2008: Sunday Sun Talk

The Sun rises along the eastern horizon and sets along the western horizon. Each day the Sun appears to travel along an arc connecting both horizons. During the Summer, the arc is higher than it is in the Winter. Thus, the distance separating both horizons points is greater in the Summer than in the Winter. Since the Sun's "speed" across the sky is constant for a given latitude, the Sun requires more time to move from horizon to horizon in the Summer than it does in the Winter. It is for this reason that our days are longer in the Summer than in the Winter.