![]() On the same day in 1898, Pierre and Marie Curie discovered radium, ushering in an atomic age. The Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth on December 21, 1620, to establish a society in which they could worship freely. ![]() The shortest day of the year marks the discovery of new and strange worlds. The modern Druidic celebration Alban Arthan reveres the death of the Old Sun and birth of the New Sun. Cattle and other animals were slaughtered around midwinter, followed by feasting on what was the last fresh meat for several months. The seeming death of the light and very real threat of starvation over the winter months would have weighed heavily on early societies, who held varied solstice celebrations and rites meant to herald the return of the sun and hope for new life. Ancient cultures viewed the winter solstice as a time of death and rebirth. The South Pole, though, will be basking in the glow of the midnight sun, which won’t set until March. Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow), Alaska, will not have a sunrise at all (and hasn’t since mid-November its next sunrise will be on January 23), while the North Pole has had no sunrise since October. Helsinki, Finland, will get 5 hours and 49 minutes of light. will experience 9 hours and 26 minutes of sunlight. It’s no wonder that the day of the solstice is referred to in some cultures as the “shortest day of the year” or “extreme of winter.” Washington, D.C. Kai-Otto Melau/GettyImagesĪs most are keenly aware, daylight hours grow shorter and shorter as the winter solstice approaches, and begin to slowly lengthen afterward. The winter solstice marks the longest night and shortest day of the year for the Northern hemisphere. And regardless of where you live, the solstice happens at the same moment for everyone on the planet. ![]() For those on Eastern Standard Time, the solstice will occur at 4:48 p.m. UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) on December 21. This is also the time when the sun shines directly over the Tropic of Capricorn. Not only does the solstice occur on a specific day, but it also occurs at a specific time of day, corresponding to the instant the North Pole is aimed farthest away from the sun on the 23.5° tilt of the Earth’s axis. The winter solstice happens at a brief, specific moment. The next solstice occurring on December 20 will not happen until 2080, and the next December 23 solstice will not occur until 2303. The reason for this is because the tropical year-the time it takes for the sun to return to the same spot relative to Earth-is different from the calendar year. The date of the winter solstice varies from year to year, and can fall anywhere between December 20 and December 23, with the 21st or 22nd being the most common dates.
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