There’s something enchanting about the solstice, which arrives this weekend and marks our longest night of the year here within the hemisphere.
Perhaps it’s the stark contrast between daylight and darkness that we experience when the winter sun is shining and not hiding behind a thick blanket of clouds. or even it’s the very fact that the sun hangs so low within the sky all day at this point of year that it almost feels as if our nearest star is within tangible reach, despite being 91 million miles away.
The solstice, which usually falls on Dec. 21 or 22, is technically not a full civil day but a particular moment in time. It occurs when Earth’s hemisphere is tilted farthest from the sun, bringing us our shortest daylight period and therefore the lowest sun angle of the year. The sun appears directly over the Tropic of Capricorn, a line of latitude 23.5 degrees south of Earth’s equator that passes through South America, southern Africa and Australia.
Capital Weather Gang Perspective
Winter solstice: There’s beauty within the darkest day of the year
It’s time to celebrate the return of the sunshine.
A frosty sunrise at the Washington Monument on Friday. (Chasingmailboxes/Flickr)
By Justin GrieserDecember 20 at 2:13 PM
There’s something enchanting about the solstice, which arrives this weekend and marks our longest night of the year here within the hemisphere.
Perhaps it’s the stark contrast between daylight and darkness that we experience when the winter sun is shining and not hiding behind a thick blanket of clouds. or even it’s the very fact that the sun hangs so low within the sky all day at this point of year that it almost feels as if our nearest star is within tangible reach, despite being 91 million miles away.
The solstice, which usually falls on Dec. 21 or 22, is technically not a full civil day but a particular moment in time. It occurs when Earth’s hemisphere is tilted farthest from the sun, bringing us our shortest daylight period and therefore the lowest sun angle of the year. The sun appears directly over the Tropic of Capricorn, a line of latitude 23.5 degrees south of Earth’s equator that passes through South America, southern Africa and Australia.
This year’s solstice occurs at 11:19 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, and rather fittingly, it'll be dark across most of the hemisphere at that point.
When astronomical winter officially begins, we’ll be but halfway through our longest night of the year, which lasts quite 14 hours here in Washington. On both Saturday and Sunday, the sun are going to be up for just nine hours and 26 minutes, rising within the southeastern sky at 7:23 a.m. and setting to the southwest at 4:49 p.m.
I’ve always considered the solstice one among my favorite days of the year. Long before the dawn of recent technology, ancient cultures and civilizations have celebrated the solstice as a seasonal turning point, welcoming the inevitable return of the sun’s light.
Even within the modern age of technology and artificial lighting, the darkest day of the year forces us to ponder the importance of sunlight in our daily lives. It affects our moods, our productivity and even our sleep patterns. While the dark, gloomy days of winter can trigger seasonal major affective disorder in many of us, there’s something about the sun’s blinding, double gold around this point of year that feels bizarrely uplifting.
Capital Weather Gang Perspective
Winter solstice: There’s beauty within the darkest day of the year
It’s time to celebrate the return of the sunshine.
A frosty sunrise at the Washington Monument on Friday. (Chasingmailboxes/Flickr)
By Justin GrieserDecember 20 at 2:13 PM
There’s something enchanting about the solstice, which arrives this weekend and marks our longest night of the year here within the hemisphere.
Perhaps it’s the stark contrast between daylight and darkness that we experience when the winter sun is shining and not hiding behind a thick blanket of clouds. or even it’s the very fact that the sun hangs so low within the sky all day at this point of year that it almost feels as if our nearest star is within tangible reach, despite being 91 million miles away.
The solstice, which usually falls on Dec. 21 or 22, is technically not a full civil day but a particular moment in time. It occurs when Earth’s hemisphere is tilted farthest from the sun, bringing us our shortest daylight period and therefore the lowest sun angle of the year. The sun appears directly over the Tropic of Capricorn, a line of latitude 23.5 degrees south of Earth’s equator that passes through South America, southern Africa and Australia.
This year’s solstice occurs at 11:19 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, and rather fittingly, it'll be dark across most of the hemisphere at that point.
When astronomical winter officially begins, we’ll be but halfway through our longest night of the year, which lasts quite 14 hours here in Washington. On both Saturday and Sunday, the sun are going to be up for just nine hours and 26 minutes, rising within the southeastern sky at 7:23 a.m. and setting to the southwest at 4:49 p.m.
I’ve always considered the solstice one among my favorite days of the year. Long before the dawn of recent technology, ancient cultures and civilizations have celebrated the solstice as a seasonal turning point, welcoming the inevitable return of the sun’s light.
Even within the modern age of technology and artificial lighting, the darkest day of the year forces us to ponder the importance of sunlight in our daily lives. It affects our moods, our productivity and even our sleep patterns. While the dark, gloomy days of winter can trigger seasonal major affective disorder in many of us, there’s something about the sun’s blinding, double gold around this point of year that feels bizarrely uplifting.
The low sun angle creates long, beautiful shadows. It’s as if the sun is playing hide-and-seek, its light barely making it above tall trees and buildings. On the solstice in Washington, the sun climbs only 27.7 degrees above the horizon when it reaches its highest point within the sky, at 12:06 p.m. Six months from now, the sun will already be that prime within the sky at 8:20 within the morning.
I often hear people grumble about the shortage of daylight and the way early it gets dark within the evening at this point of year. Yet there’s a specific comfort in knowing that the times will only get longer and brighter for subsequent six months.
I also wish to remind myself that as short because the days are within the Mid-Atlantic, there are many places where the sun’s presence is even more limited. In Seattle, the sun is up for less than eight hours and 26 minutes — an hour shorter than it appears in D.C. Near the Arctic Circle, the sun makes only a cameo appearance this weekend, with places like Fairbanks, Alaska, seeing just three hours and 41 minutes of daylight.
Even before the solstice on Saturday, we could already observe the seasonal pendulum swinging toward brighter days.
Though our shortest day of the year is on the 21st, our earliest sunsets have already come and gone. Sunset in D.C. on the solstice is about three to four minutes later than it had been in early December. Our daylight continues to dwindle until the solstice, but we’ve been losing more daylight within the morning instead of the evening. This happens because Earth is tilted on its axis and that we orbit the sun slightly faster this point of year.
While our latest sunrises won’t happen until early January, seeing a touch more evening light may be a welcome change.
The solstice could also be our darkest and longest night of the year, but its arrival should make us appreciate the changing seasons and therefore the sun’s slowly returning light.