Sun's Out, Guns Out...But Not Quite Overhead: How Often Does LA Get the Direct Solar Spotlight?
Ah, Los Angeles. The land of eternal sunshine, bronzed beaches, and...well, not exactly the sun directly overhead. That's right, sun worshippers, while LA enjoys a ridiculous amount of sunshine, there are only a tw handful of days each year when the sun graces the city with its perfectly vertical presence.
So, what's the deal?
Blame it on our good ol' pal Earth. Our planet isn't just spinning around like a perfectly balanced top; it's tilted on its axis at a cool 23.5 degrees. This tilt is what gives us our seasons, and it also affects the sun's daily path across the sky.
Enter the Zenith Zone
The zenith is basically the point directly overhead, and that's where we Angelenos want that sun smack dab in the middle of the sky. But because of Earth's tilt, the sun's path swings north in the summer and south in the winter. Los Angeles, being a cool 34 degrees north of the equator, only gets the high noon sun directly overhead twice a year, around the time of the equinoxes.
Equinox Who-hox?
Equinoxes are those magical days (around March 20th and September 22nd) when the day and night are roughly equal in length. On these days, the Earth's tilt means the sun appears directly over the equator, and for a brief moment, LA gets its zenith sunshine moment.
The Not-So-Fine Print
Now, before you dust off that sundial and plan your zenith-worshipping rituals, there are a couple of disclaimers. First, the exact dates of the equinoxes can vary slightly from year to year. But hey, it's not like you need to be a calendar-wielding astronomer to enjoy a little direct sunshine.
Second, even at the equinoxes, the sun's path might not be perfectly vertical due to slight variations in Earth's wobbly orbit. But hey, close enough for rock and roll (and suntanning)!
So there you have it, folks. LA might not be the zenith sunshine capital of the world, but with its near-constant sunshine and those two glorious equinox days, it's still a pretty darn good place to soak up the rays.
