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The South African
Five things to know about the

Aerial of Halo and Sun Dogs around Winter Sun. Getty Image/Matt Champlin

Five things to know about the winter solstice

Today is the shortest day of the year in the southern hemisphere.

Erene Roux
by Erene Roux
21-06-2018 13:46
in Lifestyle
Five things to know about the

Aerial of Halo and Sun Dogs around Winter Sun. Getty Image/Matt Champlin

The winter solstice, also known as midwinter, is an astronomical phenomenon marking the day with the shortest period of daylight and the longest night of the year. This year the winter solstice falls on Thursday 21 June 2018 in South Africa.

From tomorrow the days will become gradually longer and the nights shorter – which basically means the journey towards summer has begun.

Here are five things you didn’t know about the winter solstice:

1. The winter solstice occurred on 21 June 2018 in the Southern Hemisphere at 12:07. During this time the earth’s tilt was 23.4 degrees. It’s the exact time when the southern hemisphere or pole is tilted directly away from the sun and the north towards it.

2. Today the Nothern hemisphere is experiencing summer solstice. In the Northern hemisphere, the winter solstice usually happens around 21 or 22 December. That’s when the southern hemisphere experiences summer solstice.

3. It’s about much more than just being the shortest day of the year in the southern hemisphere. According to astrophysicist Professor Tim Bedding, humans have historically used the winter and summer solstices as time markers for seasonal agricultural activities, Although, many people don’t understand that the earth’s tilt is why we have solstices and seasons.

“The most common misconception people have is that summer and winter happen because the earth is closer in summer and further in winter,” he told AAP.

“The earth’s journey around the sun is almost circular and the seasons actually occur because the earth’s tilt causes the northern and southern hemispheres to receive varying exposure to the sun during its year-long orbit.”

4. People celebrate the winter and summer solstice all over the world. At Stonehenge in England, its said that if you stand in just the right place inside the Stonehenge monument on the day of the northern summer solstice, facing northeast through the entrance towards a rough-hewn stone outside the circle – known as the Heel Stone – you will see the sun rise above the Heel Stone.

5. During this time every year, Australia’s Antarctic team carries on the tradition that began with early explorers, such as Sir Douglas Mawson, where they plunge into the -22C, icy ocean.

 

Is jy Afrikaans? Kliek hier vir nuus in jou taal!

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