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 is the month's last two weekends that are more universally seen as the beginning of the late-summer dump months, when only forgettable films are likely to be released, with occasional exceptions like "Dirty Dancing", which went on to make $63 million domestically from its release in late August 1987, and spawn several sequels and a franchise. At the end of August is the annual American celebration of Labor Day, the only holiday weekend during this period. Of all the year's holiday weekends it is reliably the weakest in terms of movie box office, with the top grosser for the weekend