If you’re sick of how slow it is in the UK, you’ll be glad to hear that the dark days are almost over.
We have reached the shortest day of the year, called the Winter Solstice.
The exact time of the solstice will occur at 09:21 GMT in the UK.
“While many focus on winter as a calendar day, what we are talking about is a real time that has ended almost as soon as it began,” Met Office he explained.
‘The Sun sits above the Tropic of Capricorn.’
This year, the shortest day will last 7 hours 49 minutes and 42 seconds London.
That’s 8 hours, 49 minutes shorter than daylight saving time – the longest day of the year!
For the people of the Northern Hemisphere, today is the beginning of the astronomical winter, while for the people of the Southern Hemisphere, today is the beginning of summer.
If you’re sick of how slow it is in the UK, you’ll be glad to hear that the dark days are almost over. We have reached the shortest day of the year, called the Winter Solstice
What is the Winter Solstice?
As we all know, the way the Sun appears in the sky changes throughout the year.
This happens because the Earth rotates at an angle of 23.4 degrees on its axis.
During summer in the northern hemisphere, the North Pole is tilted towards the Sun, thus receiving more sunlight and longer daylight hours.
Meanwhile, during winter in the northern hemisphere, the North Pole is tilted away from the Sun, causing the daylight hours to shorten.
The rainy seasons occur twice a year, and are known as the ‘summer solstice’ and the ‘winter solstice’.
The summer solstice, which occurs around 21 June in the Northern Hemisphere, is the day of the year with the longest daylight hours while the winter solstice, on 21 December in the Northern Hemisphere, is the shortest day. afternoon,” the Met office said.
Is this the start of winter?
During winter in the northern hemisphere, the North Pole is tilted away from the Sun, resulting in shorter daylight hours.
According to the astronomical meaning, today is the beginning of winter.
‘The astronomical calendar determines the weather due to the 23.5 degree tilt of the Earth’s rotational axis relative to its orbit around the Sun,’ said the Met Office.
However, most forecasters including the Met Office often use the meteorological interpretation of the weather.
The seasons consist of dividing the seasons into four seasons, each consisting of three months.
So by this definition, the first day of winter is always on the 1st of December, ending on the 28th (or 29th on a Leap Year) of February.
What does ‘solstice’ mean?
Like many astronomical words, the world ‘solstice’ comes from the Latin.
‘Because the Sun appears to “stand still” in the sky when it reaches the Tropic of Capricorn, the word solstitium is made up of the words sol (meaning “sun”) and sistere (meaning “stopping”). ,’ the Met Office explained.
The astronomical calendar determines the seasons because of the 23.5 degree tilt of the Earth’s rotational axis relative to its orbit around the Sun.
How is winter celebrated?
The event is celebrated by cultures around the world.
The Scandinavian festival of Jul is an ancient tradition, started by the Vikings, to celebrate the return of the sun.
Yule was a pagan and Germanic festival that coincided with the Winter Solstice.
The celebration lasted 12 days and gave birth to the famous Christmas traditions that are still used today in the UK.
This includes having a Christmas Tree, Christmas wreath and Yule log.
Here in the UK, Stonehenge is the place to celebrate the winter solstice.
People visit this place to see the sun shining on the rocks, including neo-Druids and neo-Pagans.
The ancient building was built to reflect the sun during the winter and summer seasons, indicating when the days would start to get longer or shorter.
For ancient cultures, the passage of time was important, especially for the people living near Stonehenge who were farmers who cultivated crops.
In winter the sun sets in the southwest of the stone circle.
