Here Comes The Science...

The earf is tilted on it's axis by 23.5 degrees, relative to the plane of the planet around the sun. This tilt is what gives us our seasons. When the earth is on one side of the sun, the angle is such that the direct rays of the sun hit the Tropic of Cancer. On the other side of the orbit, the rays hit directly on the Tropic of Capricorn.

( I know we're going back to elementary science here, but bear with me. )

When the rays directly hit the Tropic of Cancer, we have more direct light than usual, and we experience summer. Conversely, when the rays hit the Capricorn line, we receive very little energy, and experience winter. Spring and Fall occur when the earth travels around the sun, and the angle forces the rays to directly hit the equator.

This is the way it's been for over 4 billion years. Except Saturday morning. I can't explain it, but the sun did not rise over the Tropic of Cancer on that morning. I was driving towards Green Bay ( which is north of Milwaukee, for those of you not from 'round these parts ), and I noticed the sky was getting light in the direction mostly ahead of me, and yet staying dark behind me.

This is unusual, because the Tropic of Cancer is located well to the south of me. So the sun should rise in east, but to the southeast of me.



If I'm located at the red dot, I should have to peer to the southeast to see the start of the sunrise. But instead, this is what I saw:



When I would look to the southeast, say where Milwaukee would be from where I was, the sky was still dark. The area that I saw the sky getting light, should still be dark if the sun was rising in it's normal position. If the sun rose like normal, the sky would be bright in the south, and fading to the north, like this:




But as the sun continued to rise, this is what I saw:








I can't figure this one out.