THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM
70 Falmouth Street      Portland, Maine 04103
(207) 780-4249      usm.maine.edu/planet
43.6667° N    70.2667° W Founded January 1970
2022-2023:   LXXII
Sunrise:  6:52 a.m.
Sunset:   6:48 p.m.
Civil twilight begins: 6:23 a.m.
Civil twilight ends:  7:17 p.m.
Sun's host constellation: Pisces
Moon phase: Waning crescent moon (33% illuminated)
Moonrise: 4:00 a.m.
Moonset:12:21 p.m.
Julian date:   2460018.29
                     "Taking up space in Portland"



THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Thursday, March 16, 2023
The Sunshine Protection Act
[image: istockphoto-472303873-612x612.jpg]
Although we're citizens of a calm nation which doesn't allow its serenity
to be perturbed by something as trivial as political disagreement, we here
at DAHQ tend to give politics a light-year wide berth.   Not only do we not
take any political positions, but we also shy away from any topic that
would even  remotely be considered political.

Then there is the Sunshine Protection Act.
While we refuse to become advocates for the pro or con side of this
grandly-titled legislation, we thought  it prudent to at least discuss it.


*S.623 117th Congress (2021-2022)*
*Sponsor - Marco Rubio  (R) Florida*

To phrase the bill succinctly -i.e without the deluge of superfluous
verbiage one tends to find gushing through such bills- this act, if passed,
would make Daylight Savings Time permanent effective November 2023.     One
might remember that last Sunday we 'sprang forward' by exactly one hour.
This chronological up-tick has been a traditional part of our pre-spring
preparations since World War II, when President Franklin Roosevelt formally
introduced it.    He referred to this DST switch as 'war time,' in
reference to a war, which, we might add, ended in, ahem, 1945.

Although the Senate passed this bill with unanimous consent on March 15,
2022, the US House of Representatives did not vote on the bill as the
speaker Nancy Pelosi did not introduce it onto the House floor. Well, this
year, Marco Rubio reintroduced the bill into the Senate while Rep. Vern
Buchanan -also, curiously, from Florida-  has introduced companion
legislation in the US House.   As Sen Rubio said,

*“This ritual of changing time twice a year is stupid. Locking the clock
has overwhelming bipartisan and popular support. This Congress, I hope that
we can finally get this done.”*

That is all very well and we will not argue for or against the motion
since, well, we exert exactly no political influence.  However, we did want
to respond to one comment made by one of the Senate bill's many co-sponsors:

*“It’s time to put a stop to the twice-a-year time-change madness. Science
and common sense show that more year-round daylight would improve our
health, help kids spend a bit more time enjoying outdoor after school
activities, and encourage folks to support local businesses while on a
sunny stroll in their communities. I’m all in to get the Sunshine
Protection Act passed into law at last."   - Senator Wyden*

Are you serious?
Even if this legislation passes both chambers and is then signed into law
by President Biden, the amount of daylight we receive each year won't
change one iota.        While the amount varies with latitude (more on this
matter at a later date), the daylight any given observer experiences
doesn't change from year to year provided that the observer remains in the
same location.    The US government has not yet figured out a way to
directly affect the daylight durations along Earth.   This inability to
alter this duration is quite unfortunate for we all  know how richly nature
has benefitted from any human effort to improve it.

What will it do?

Well, for us, here's what will happen if we never revert back to Standard
Time.


   - The Sun will never set before 5 p.m. again.  Our date of earliest
   sunset occurs around December 10th.  On that date, the Sun will set at or
   around 5:04 p.m.
   - However, from December 6 - January 29, the Sun will rise just after 8
   a.m.  On the date of the latest sunrise, around January 6th, the Sun will
   rise at 8:15 a.m.  Civil twilight won't begin on that date until 7:42 a.m.

The daylight duration will NOT change.  However, the evening will never
begin before 5 p.m. again.  Then again, early risers will be awakening into
a dark world for a longer period of time.

We'll be watching this legislation quite closely as it meanders its way
through the serpentine tracks of DC.    Will we ever have to change our
clocks again?  Well time -which we don't yet control, Dr.- will tell.


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