Everything You Need to Know About the Winter Solstice From astronomy to religion, the year's shortest day brings enduring mysteries. The Northern Hemisphere's procession of dwindling days is about to reach its nadir. The winter solstice is the year's shortest day, but the start of winter also launches the sun's steady climb towards the long, warm days of summer. The solstice occurs on Tuesday, December 22 at 4:48 UTC—that's late Monday night across most of North America. It happens … [Read more...]
Winter Solstice 2014, celebrated DEC 21
December 20, 2014 by
The pagan holiday known as Yule falls on the winter solstice, which is Dec. 21 this year. Flickr December may be marked by Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, but for pagans it’s the time to celebrate Yule. The holiday marks the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere (Sunday, Dec. 21, this year) and celebrates the rebirth of the sun and beginning of winter. It is one of the oldest winter celebrations known. The winter solstice is the longest night and shortest day of the year. The Earth’s … [Read more...]
Summer Solstice 2012 – celebrated June 20 th!
June 19, 2012 by
The summer solstice occurs exactly when the axial tilt of a planet's semi-axis in a given hemisphere is most inclined towards the star that it orbits. Earth's maximum axial tilt to our star, the Sun, during a solstice is 23° 26'. This happens twice each year, at which times the Sun reaches its highest position in the sky as seen from the North or South Pole respectively. The summer solstice is the solstice that occurs in a hemisphere's summer. In the Northern Hemisphere this is the … [Read more...]
Summer Solstice – June 21, 2011
June 21, 2011 by
- Summer Soltice - June 21, 2011 STONEHENGE SPECIAL ACCESS TOUR Each year on the 21 June visitors from around the world gather at Stonehenge overnight to mark the summer solstice and to see the sunrise above the stones. At dawn the central Altar stone aligns with the Slaughter stone, Heel stone and the rising sun to the northeast. The Summer Solstice is the most important day of the year at Stonehenge and a truly magical time to be there. It's an ad hoc … [Read more...]
