Winter sunrise

​Do you know what I love about winters? 
Getting to see the sunrise later in the morning. 

Observing the sunrises and sunsets are a random occurrence for me where, when caught at that moment, always put me at awe. When I lived in a high-rise building facing west many years ago, I used to watch the sunsets often. It's only now that I am beginning to seek out the rhythms and rhymes of this amazing universe. Today, a remarkable sunrise.

Did you know that the sunrise happens later and later in the Northern Hemisphere until early January?  If I had to guess, I would assume that Winter Solstice was the turning point for the sun to rise earlier. Apparently it is not.  The mismatch is due to the Earth's rotational axis being 23.5 degrees off from vertical to the plane of our orbit around the sun, and the Earth's eccentric orbit causing it to travel fastest in January and slowest in July.  According to my source for this information, EarthSky, the exact date for the latest sunrise or sunset varies by latitude. The sequence, however, always remains the same-- holding true for both Northern and Southern hemispheres:
Earliest SunSET > Winter Solstice > Latest SunRISE
Earliest SunRISE > Summer Solstice > Latest SunSET

This morning as I watched the dark pink/purplish light on the horizon, I felt a deep sense of gratitude for its beauty and wonder. I checked the time and it was maybe quarter past 7am. Never a joyful earlybird (like the Amrit Vela time between 3am-6am-- ugh!), I appreciate the sun's later rise.  At least another week perhaps until it does start to wake earlier.  This may be a good week for sun salutations.