Winter Solstice (2017)
The winter solstice, or hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the winter solstice is the day with the shortest period of daylight and longest night of the year, and when the Sun is at its lowest arc in the sky. In each polar region, there is continuous darkness or twilight around its winter solstice. The opposite event is the summer solstice, which happens at the same time in the opposite hemisphere. The winter solstice occurs during the hemisphere's winter. In the Northern Hemisphere, this is the December solstice (December 21 or 22) and in the Southern Hemisphere, this is the June solstice (June 20 or 21). "Although the winter solstice itself occurs at a specific moment in time, the term is also commonly used to refer to the day on which it occurs." Traditionally, in many temperate regions, the winter solstice is seen as the middle of winter, and "midwinter" is another name for the winter solstice, although it carries other meanings as well. Other names are the "extreme of winter", the "shortest day" and the "longest…
- Published
- 2017
- Pages
- 272
