The winter solstice, also known as the hibernal solstice, midwinter, Jól, or Yule, is the shortest day of the year. It occurs when the Earth’s axis is tilted furthest away from the sun.
Let's have a look at some interesting facts about the winter solstice!
As well as marking the shortest day, the winter solstice is also the longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
On this day, the North Pole experiences 24 hours of night and the South Pole receives 24 hours of daylight!
The winter solstice falls between December 20 and 23 in the Northern Hemisphere every year. The last December 23 solstice was in 1903 and won’t occur again until 2303!
The word “solstice” is derived from the Latin words “sol” meaning “sun” and “sistre” translating to “stands still”
The winter solstice marks the first day of winter according to the astronomical calendar. However, as per the meteorological calendar, winter begins on December 1!
Although the winter solstice takes up a whole day on the calendar, it happens in a heartbeat when the sun is directly overhead the Tropic of Capricorn.
A full moon on a winter solstice is rarer than a blue moon. The last was in 2010, which was also a lunar eclipse! The next winter solstice full moon will occur in 2094.
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