Happy Winter Solstice!

Illumination (Photo – Kathabela Wilson)

At 1:21 am on Saturday, December 21, 2024, the Earth reached the point in its orbit known as the Winter Solstice.

By Scott Phelps

At this point, the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth is most tilted toward the Sun, and the Northern Hemisphere is most tilted away from the Sun. The Sun shines directly down on a line on the Earth called the Tropic of Capricorn, about 23.5 degrees south of Earth’s equator.

For people in the northern hemisphere, it is the first day of Winter. From now until the Summer Solstice on June 20, 2025, the Earth’s orbital motion will cause the Northern Hemisphere to be more and more tilted towards the Sun, causing the Sun to get higher in the sky and the daylight hours to increase. Both of these in turn mean more sunlight on us in the Northern Hemisphere from Saturday until the Summer Solstice.