Skymatters: The astronomy behind The Grand Auld Stretch

"When looked at in the round, the Moon isn’t and never will be a replacement for the Earth. Another reason for us to treat our home planet with the greatest of kindness."

An image taken by a Lunar Excursion Vehicle 2 (LEV-2) of a robotic moon rover called Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, on the moon. A Japanese moon explorer is up and running Monday, Jan. 29, after several tense days without the sunlight it needs to generate power. Pic: JAXA/Takara Tomy/Sony Group Corporation/Doshisha University

Much to all our delight there is a discernible increase in the length of the day this month. 

On February 1, daylight lasts for nine hours and six minutes. By the end of the month, it grows to 10 hours and 52 minutes. That’s quite a change.