Do days get shorter at the same rate they get longer?

Question

Do days get shorter at the same rate they get longer?

Answer 1

It depends how accurately you intend to measure. This year, the time interval from winter solstice to summer solstice (in the north) is 181 days 17 hours and 44 minutes.
2006 Dec. 22 0:22 (UT) to 2007 Jun. 21 18:06 (UT)

The time interval from summer solstice to winter is
183 days 12 hours and 2 minutes.
2007 Jun. 21 18:06 (UT) to 2007 Dec. 22 6:08 (UT)

So the change is NOT exactly symmetric.
However, it would be difficult to measure the difference on any given day.

For example, the equinox (March 21) is 92.75 days before summer solstice and 93.65 days after (Sept. 23). So it takes a tiny bit longer for the days to get shorter.

The difference is due to the fact that Earth's orbit is not exactly circular. We are closest to the Sun in early January (Earth goes faster on its orbit); that is why our winter and Spring (in the northern hemisphere) is a tiny bit shorter than our Summer and Fall.

Answer 2

Yes, the axial tilt of the Earth doesn't change during the year, so the change in the length of the day is the same (with some very miniscule differences due to difference in the Earth's orbital speed at different points in the orbit - but these are on the order of milli-seconds so we would never notice).

Answer 3

Not exactly. Since the Earth orbits the sun in an ellipse, it moves faster a perihelion (which is winter for the northern hemisphere) and slower at aphelion (which is summer). And its the direction of the Earths axis relative to the Sun that determines the length of the day for a given latitude.

So the changes in length of day in the summer is slower than it is in the winter (and vice versa for the southern hemisphere.) However, the difference is slight, mere seconds per day.

Answer 4

Yep.

Day length varies because of the tilt of the earth. So unless you can change that without anyone else knowing, then yeah, its always the same as long as we still sit here at 23.5 degrees.

Answer 5

yes