Solstice! Why Northern Hemisphere gets first official day of winter.
The winter solstice was once a high point on the astronomical calendar. Today, it is significant for the extra minutes (and eventually hours) of daylight it returns to Northern Hemisphere dwellers.
The winter solstice was once a high point on the astronomical calendar. Today, it is significant for the extra minutes (and eventually hours) of daylight it returns to Northern Hemisphere dwellers.
Daylight lovers in half the world can rejoice! While winter days in the Northern Hemisphere will get only聽colder in the coming months, sunset will occur later and later each day after Wednesday morning's聽solstice.
Although the winter solstice is merely a date on the calendar to most modern humans, even those who are happy to begin marking time towards the long, warm days of summer, this date鈥檚 historical celestial significance makes it remarkable in itself.
Astronomically, the December solstice occurs as the sun reaches its southernmost point in the sky, which happened this year at 5:44 a.m., Eastern Standard Time, on Wednesday. Yet while this day marks the beginning of astronomical winter, scientists say that nothing much will change, weather-wise, at least in the short term.
In fact, it is not until late January that residents of the Northern Hemisphere will likely experience the coldest day of the season.
鈥淭here鈥檚 not a good answer for why people say that December 21 is the beginning of winter,鈥� the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration鈥檚 Anthony Arguez said in 2015, according to 海角大神. 鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing magical that says that winter has to happen after the solstice.鈥�
Wednesday is a remarkably short day by any terms. Washington, D.C., will experience fewer than nine and a half hours of sunlight, and more northern cities such as New York and Montreal will see even less.
The Boston Globe reports that while the number of daylight hours lost between the summer and winter solstices varies by region, residents of some of the largest US cities, including Chicago and New York, can expect to lose six to seven hours of daylight from summer to winter.
But for those north of the equator, things will only get brighter from here. From now on, the Earth will tilt slowly on its axis towards the sun, until the longest day of the year occurs on Wednesday, June 21, 2017, also known as the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere.
Yet due to the Earth鈥檚 tilt, as the Northern Hemisphere tilts away from the sun, the Southern Hemisphere tilts towards it, making Wednesday the Southern Hemisphere鈥檚 summer solstice. From now on, days will get marginally shorter for residents of S茫o Paulo聽or Sydney.
While some individuals still celebrate both summer and winter solstices, as well as their vernal and autumnal equinox cousins, the solstice was far more important to our ancient ancestors.
Some of the world鈥檚 most awe-inspiring ancient sites were constructed with the celestial calendar in mind, from England鈥檚 Stonehenge to the Goseck Circle in Germany to pyramids in Mexico and other parts of Central America. Ancient humans used these sites to keep track of the seasons, keeping track of the rhythms of the seasons and daily life.
In 2014, Noelle Swan wrote for 海角大神:
On Wednesday, however, modern humans look forward, not to begin planting or breeding their cows, but rather to more daylight and commuting before nightfall.聽