Shortest day, longest night: All you need to know about the Winter Solstice

People in northern hemisphere will experience the shortest day and longest night on December 21.

In Short

Solstice comes twice a year

The Summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere comes in June

December 21 marks winter solstice in Northern Hemisphere

By LAKSHY DREAM FOUNDATION GLOBAL NEWS  Web Desk: The Earth is tilted at an axis and revolves around the Sun, which leads to seasonal changes throughout the planet. December 21 marks the winter solstice when the northern hemisphere experiences the shortest day and the longest night of the year. At the same moment, the other side, south of the Equator, experiences the beginning of summer.

According to Nasa, at the solstice, the Sun’s path appears farthest north or south, depending on which half of the planet you are on. The Southern hemisphere of the planet experiences Summer solstice on that day. The 2022 winter solstice begins at 4:48 pm.

The solstice comes twice a year, while the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere comes in June, the winter solstice is marked by the Sun reaching its southernmost position in the sky, no matter where on Earth you happen to be. "The Sun's changing height in the sky throughout the year is caused by Earth's tilt as it orbits our local star," Nasa said.

"Earth’s axis may be imagined as an imaginary pole going right through the center of our planet from “top” to “bottom.” Earth spins around this pole, making one complete turn each day. That is why we have day and night. Although the tilt of the Earth as compared to the plane of its orbit around the Sun is more or less constant (23.5Ëš), at the December solstice, the Northern Hemisphere receives the most indirect sunlight, causing cooler temperatures," Nasa explains.

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Meanwhile, the Southern Hemisphere experiences the most direct sunlight, resulting in the longest day and the shortest night.

It is worth mentioning that following the December 21 winter solstice, the daylight will begin to increase in the northern hemisphere and the days will get longer. The understanding of the solstice has been found across cultures and civilizations and ancient monuments have revealed that our ancestors knew about the celestial phenomenon.

People built monuments, like Stonehenge in England and the Torreon in Machu Picchu, Peru, to follow the Sun’s annual progress and predict its movements.

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