Winter solstice one must be able to observe a change in azimuth or elevation less than or equal to about 1/60 of the angular diameter of the sun. Observing that it occurred within a two-day period is easier, requiring an observation precision of only about 1/16 of the angular diameter of the sun. Thus, many observations are of the day of the solstice rather than the instant. This is often done by observing the sunrise and sunset or using an astronomically aligned instrument that allows a ray of light to be cast on a certain point around that time. Length of day
Dump months being the 2007 Rob Zombie-directed reimagining of "Halloween", at $30.5 million. "The Sixth Sense", then in its fourth week, is a close second after pulling in $29 million in 1999; in a distant second for opening weekends is yet another horror film, 2012's "The Possession" with $21.1 million. Once September begins, younger moviegoers are preoccupied with starting the school year and thus less likely to go to the movies on weeknights than they were in summertime. As with the winter months, football also has an impact at the box office as not only NFL teams but college and high school