The winter solstice occurs when? The winter solstice occurs on Wednesday, December 21, 2022. Why does the winter solstice occur and what does it mean? Find out everything there is to know about the shortest day of the year, and tell us what winter means to you!
The Winter Solstice occurs when?
The winter solstice, which falls on December 21, 2022, at 4:48 PM EST, marks the start of winter in the Northern Hemisphere.
The winter solstice takes place every year on December 21 or 22 for the northern half of the planet (the Northern Hemisphere). (The winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere takes place in June.) The winter solstice is known as the "shortest day" of the year since it has the fewest number of daylight hours throughout the entire year. Fortunately, as we pass the winter solstice, the days start to lengthen once again until we arrive at the summer solstice, which is the start of summer and the longest day of the year.
Consider it like this: The return of greater sunshine coincides with the winter solstice, which also marks the beginning of winter. The future is just going to become better!
Astronomical winter officially starts on the winter solstice (as opposed to meteorological winter, which starts about three weeks prior to the solstice). Each hemisphere experiences the winter solstice once a year: in the Northern Hemisphere (in December) and in the Southern Hemisphere (in January) (in June). It signals the beginning of the winter season in each hemisphere. The winter solstice in one hemisphere coincides with the summer solstice in the opposite hemisphere!
All of this is possible because of Earth's tilted axis, which causes one half of the planet to point away from the Sun at the solstice and the other half to point in its direction.
The winter solstice lasts only a brief period of time, despite the fact that we frequently imagine it to be a day-long event. A hemisphere is slanted as far away from the Sun as it can be at that precise instant. The graphic below displays this.
As a harbinger of the onset of the seasons, the winter solstice is significant in many different civilizations. Some prehistoric peoples even used enormous stone constructions, like Newgrange in Ireland, to commemorate the solstice. The midpoint of the season, rather than the beginning, was traditionally marked by the solstice in certain cultures, which explains why festivities like Midsummer Day are observed around the first day of summer.
On the Winter Solstice, what takes place?
The Sun's path through the sky is as low in the sky as it can be on the day of the winter solstice because we are angled as far away from the Sun as is physically conceivable. Consider the Sun's daily course: It arcs across the sky from east to west as it rises and sets. The Sun arcs high in the sky during the summer, but lower and nearer the horizon during the winter.
How may we personally experience the effects of the solstice? Stand outside on the solstice and observe your shadow at midday. Your shadow is the longest you'll cast all year. You'll see almost no shadow if you repeat this on the day of the summer solstice.
The Sun's Variable Course
Another way to think about this is that the Sun's course reaches its southernmost point in the sky on the day of the solstice. This implies that even at "high noon," the Sun's path is as low in the sky as it can be for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. On the winter solstice, the Sun will be high in the sky and directly overhead at noon in the Southern Hemisphere. The Tropic of Capricorn is an illustrative line that circles the Earth and passes through areas of South America, southern Africa, and Australia.
The Latin roots for solstice are sistere, which means to stand still, and sol. It thus roughly translates as "sun stay still." Why? The Sun's apparent route across the sky appears to freeze for a few days before and after the solstice. The Sun's course appears to remain static or alter very little during its noon elevation.
The Sun's course starts moving northward once more the day following the winter solstice, finally reaching its farthest north on the day of the summer solstice.
The Sun's rising and setting positions on the horizon, as well as the high point of the Sun's daily passage across the sky, which happens at local noon, all travel southward as summer turns into winter. The cycle never ends!
summer's equinox
On June 20, 21, or 22, as the summer solstice arrives, the Sun will be directly above at the Tropic of Cancer, where it will be at its most northern position (which runs through Mexico, northern Africa, and southern Asia). The beginning of summer is signalled by the summer solstice, which is the longest day of the year (the day with the most daylight hours).
Equinoxes
Possibly you're also familiar with the word "equinox." The Sun crosses Earth's equator directly in the spring (March) and the fall (September), depending on the season. Due to the almost same length of day and night on equinoxes, the word "equinox" signifies "equal."
The Winter Solstice: Frequently Asked Questions
The shortest day of the year occurs on the Winter Solstice. Also, is it the coldest?
The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year, which means that we get the least amount of daylight on that day. Since humans receive less sunlight exposure on this day than at any other time of the year, it seems to reason to believe that it is also the coldest day of the year. However, this is untrue.
Altitude, snow cover, and broad-scale weather patterns are just a few of the variables that might influence a location's temperature on any given day. For instance, snow cover prevents some solar radiation from being absorbed by the Earth, causing less heat to be emitted and a decrease in temperature overall. Due to these circumstances, it is impossible to consistently identify the coldest day as the same day each year.
While it is possible that the day of the winter solstice will also be the coldest day of the year, that is not typically the case since the coldest days in the United States tend to fall between mid-December and late January.
Is winter officially underway on the Winter Solstice?
Depending on the definition of "winter" you use, there is no clear-cut answer to this query:
The winter solstice marks the start of astronomical winter, which lasts until the spring equinox. The relationship between the Earth and the Sun determines the astronomical seasons.
In the Northern Hemisphere, meteorological winter lasts from December 1 to February 28. (or 29). The annual temperature cycle and climatological patterns seen on Earth serve as the foundation for meteorological seasons.
We at The Old Farmer's Almanac adhere to the astronomical definition of the seasons, which indicates that each of the four seasons begins on a solstice or equinox. This is because an almanack is usually characterised as a "calendar of the sky."
That does not, however, imply that the meteorological definition is flawed. For a variety of reasons, including those related to trade and agriculture, meteorologists must be able to compare climatological information for a given season from one year to the next. As a result, the seasons are divided into three-month groups by meteorologists. On December 1, meteorological winter officially begins, and it lasts through February.
Was the Winter Solstice a reason for Stonehenge's construction?
England's Stonehenge is one well-known ancient monument. Experts agree that the design looks to match with the solstices due to the stone arrangement. According to one theory, the location may have served as both a form of astronomical observatory and a shrine dedicated to the Sun.
The Solstice: How Do We Celebrate It?
Since the dawn of time, societies all around the world have observed the solstice. There were many ways that our predecessors celebrated the first day of winter, from the Roman celebration of Saturnalia to the pre-Christian holiday of Norse jól or Juul observed in Scandinavia.
What Do You Mean by Winter?
Winter can bring happiness or misery. Some individuals eagerly anticipate the changing seasons, snow, skiing and ice skating, cuddling by a fire, and the festive mood. When you go through the woods, you'll experience a calm, muffled kind of quietness.
Others detest the arctic cold, blizzards, and unpredictable weather (for good reason). Winter in colder areas frequently entails shovelling, blowing snow, navigating icy roads, and dealing with uncomfortable temperatures. Winters are very mild or chilly in more temperate areas, and many flock to locations like Florida to avoid the bitter cold of the north.
Forecast for the Winter
Brrrr! What about the wintery conditions? If they haven't already, colder weather are on their way. We at The Old Farmer's Almanac have been predicting the weather since the time of George Washington, or more than 225 years ago, so we have some experience in this area.
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