Yes, the darkest day of the year has arrived, but that means there are brighter days ahead.
Sunday is the shortest day of the year north of the equator, as the solstice marks the beginning of the astronomical winter. The opposite is true in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is the longest day of the year and the start of summer.
The word “solstice” comes from the Latin words “sol” which means sun and “stitium” which can mean “pause” or “stop”. the The solstice is the end of the Sun’s annual march Higher or lower in the sky. The winter solstice occurs when the sun is at its shortest and lowest arc. The good news for sun lovers: It then starts to rise again and the days will get a little longer each day until late June.
People have marked solstices for eons through celebrations and monuments like Stonehenge, which were designed to coincide with The paths of the sun at solstices. But what happens in the sky? Here’s what to know about Earth’s orbit.
When the Earth orbits the Sun, it does so at an angle, causing the Sun’s warmth and light to fall unevenly on the northern and southern halves of the planet for most of the year.
The solstices mark the times when the Earth’s tilt toward or away from the sun is at its greatest. This means that the two hemispheres get very different amounts of sunlight, and day and night are not at all equal.
At the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the upper half of the Earth is at its greatest tilt away from the Sun, resulting in the shortest day and longest night of the year. The winter solstice can fall between December 20 and 23, and this year it is the 21st.
The opposite happens at the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere: the upper half of the Earth tilts toward the sun, creating the longest day and shortest night of the year. This solstice falls between June 20 and 22.
During the equinox, the Earth’s axis and orbit align so that both hemispheres receive an equal amount of sunlight.
The word equinox comes from two Latin words meaning equal and night. This is because on the day of the equinox, day and night last roughly the same amount of time – although one may get a few extra minutes, depending on where you are on the planet.
The Northern Hemisphere’s autumnal — or autumnal — equinox can fall between September 21 and 24, depending on the year. The vernal – or vernal – equinox could fall between March 19 and 21.
These are two different ways of dividing the year.
While astronomical seasons depend on how the Earth moves around the sun, meteorological seasons are determined by the weather. Meteorologists divide the year into three-month seasons based on annual temperature cycles. According to this calendar, spring begins on March 1, summer on June 1, autumn on September 1, and winter on December 1.
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