If the summer and winter solstice is when the sun is the furthest away from the earth.?

Question

The would the shadows be the shortest on two days of the year?

Answer 1

Your statement is not quite right. The Winter Solstice is when the sun makes its lowest path through our sky and the Summer Soltice is when the sun makes its highest path through our skys. That's why shadows are the longest during the Winter Solstice and shortest during the Summer Solstice.

Answer 2

The winter solstice is when the sun appears to be closest to the horizon, summer when farthest.

The sun is actually closer to earth during the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere.

It is the angle of the sun above the horizon that determines the shadow length.

It cannot be simply stated that shadows would be shortest during the summer solstice, longest during the winter. For example, the shadow cast just before sunset on the summer solstice day is longer than the shadow cast at noon during the winter solstice day.

Answer 3

The solstices have nothing to do with the distance between the Sun and the Earth. The Earth is at its farthest roughly around July 4 and at its nearest around January 4. But it would be the seasons rather than distance that would affect shadow length at any particular place, direction or time of day on Earth.

Answer 4

Earth is closest to the sun in winter and farthest away in the summer. In the Northern Hemisphere, shadows would be shortest on the first day of summer because that's the day the sun is farthest north of the equator therefore highest in the sky. Shadows would be longest on the first day of winter because that's the day the sun is closest to the equator (..farthest from the Northern Hemisphere..)