The other two are the Summer Solstices, and you may be unsurprised to learn that the four solstices are interconnected. While the Winter Solstice is occurring on Dec. Think about the imaginary "Earth pole" again.
If the part extending from the Northern Hemisphere is pointed away from the sun, the part of the pole extending from the Southern Hemisphere points toward our star. During the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the pole that extends from this half of the planet is pointed towards the sun. Thus in the Southern Hemisphere, that pole points away.
This reflective almost mirror image nature extends into the phenomena surrounding the opposing solstices. The Winter Solstice marks the shortest day of the year, the Summer Solstice marks the longest period of sunlight.
Following the Summer Solstice, the days become increasingly shorter, just as the days become longer after the Winter Solstice. During the Summer Solstice, the sun appears at its most northerly in the sky, the Winter Solstice, as mentioned, sees it as its most southerly.
Today we are aware of the astronomical events that lead to the solstices and their effect on the planet and we can imagine cosmic poles that impale our planet. But for our ancestors, these days had almost supernatural significance, meaning not only were they marked by both festivals and celebrations, they often birthed dark folkloric tales.
The significance of the Winter Solstice to our ancestors was probably a result of the fact it marked the lengthening of days, leading to its reputation as a time of rebirth. Because of its significance, there are simply too many Winter Solstice celebrations and festivals to list. The first that springs to the minds of many is the Christian celebration of Christmas. By Vigdis Hocken and Aparna Kher.
The June solstice is the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and the winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere. Position of Earth in relation to the Sun during the June solstice not to scale. The date varies between June 20 and June 22 , depending on the year, and the local time zone.
A solstice happens when the sun's zenith is at its furthest point from the equator. It's also known as the northern solstice because it occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere.
The point on the horizon where the sun appears to rise and set, stops and reverses direction after this day. On the solstice, the sun does not rise precisely in the east, but rises to the north of east and sets to the north of west, meaning it's visible in the sky for a longer period of time.
An interesting idiosyncrasy relating to the summer solstice is that it does not feature the day with the earliest sunrise and latest sunset as is commonly expected. Similarly, on the winter solstice, the sunrise is not the latest and the sunset is not the earliest.
However, this day does have the least amount of daylight hours. Because the path of the Earth around the Sun is an ellipse, not a circle, and because the Earth is off-centre on its axis, these combined phenomena can create up to several minutes difference between solar and mean time.
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