What do you Mean by Solstices and What Causes it?
For a thousand years or more, astronomy has been subjected to paramount importance for people. The historical constructions believed to be called Stonehenge might have been developed to pay honor to solstices & equinoxes. So, what is solstice? Simply put, solstices occur as the Earth's axis of rotation gets tilted around 23.4 degrees to its orbit surrounding the Sun. Here's to learning more about the solstice.
Understanding What is Solstice
Another answer to what solstice is, solstice refers to sun-stopping. The horizon's point where the Sun appears & sets, reverses, and stops after the day is known as solstice. The tilt drives the planet's seasons, as Southern and Northern Hemispheres receive unequal amounts of sunlight over one year's course.
Its Northern Hemisphere stays tilted towards the Sun between March and September, thereby driving spring & summer. And between September and March, its Northern Hemisphere stays tilted away. Thus, it gives rise to seasons like winter and autumn. This season of the Southern Hemisphere is reversed.
Outlining the Humble Roots of Solstice: Here's A Brief History
Individuals love watching the midsummer sun when it rises on the megalithic Stonehenge monument in England on the 21st of June, 2005 (Salisbury Plain). Crowds came from different locations and gathered in the ancient stone circle in order to celebrate the legendary summer solstice – the year's longest day in the Northern Hemisphere.
For a thousand years, people celebrated the summer solstice or Midsummer Day. These days, it becomes seamless to elucidate what exactly it is. Nonetheless, during prehistoric times, this natural phenomenon seemed to be like a mystery.
People in the bygone days did not understand that it is not the Sun that moves. What exactly moves is the Earth that rotates around the Sun in one year's course. People belonging to the Neolithic Age determined the utmost yearly date of the summer solstice (21st of June) and winter solstice (mostly on 21st of December). Also, what is the shortest day of the year? While these dates mark the astronomical beginning of the summer and winter seasons, here's outlining everything about winter and summer solstice.
Elucidating Everything About Summer and Winter Solstice
If you want to learn about the difference between the summer solstice and winter solstice, you need to first understand what they are. Firstly, the summer solstice or festival solstice, or midsummer, happens when an Earth's poles have the maximum tilt towards the Sun. Usually, it occurs twice a year – once in each of the hemispheres (Southern and Northern).
To simply put, the summer solstice occurs when the Sun stretches the highest spot in the sky (for the areas outside the tropics), and the day is usually known to have the longest daylight period. So, it's the longest day of the year. In the Arctic Circle (considering the northern hemisphere) or the Antarctic circle (for the southern hemisphere), continuous daylight is there around the summer solstice. For this, the maximum axial tilt of the Earth towards the Sun happens to be 23.44°. Likewise, the declination of the Sun from the equator is around 23.44°.
On the contrary, the winter solstice or hibernal solstice is also termed as hiemal solstice. It occurs when one of the poles reaches the maximum tilt away from the Sun. It also happens twice each year – once in each of the hemispheres (Southern and Northern). The day of the winter solstice has the shortest daylight period. So, it has the longest night of the whole year.
That means it is the smallest day of the year, when the Sun remains at the lowest maximum elevation in the sky. Either of the poles will experience continuous twilight or darkness around the winter solstice, and the opposite occurrence is known to be the summer solstice. Based on the winter solstice of the hemisphere, the Sun usually reaches 90° (at the Tropic of Capricorn or Cancer) below the horizon of the observer at the solar midnight.
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Difference Between Summer Solstice and Winter Solstice
FAQs on Solstices
1. What Happens on Solstice?
If you want to learn what is solstice and what happens on the solstice, here you go. On two moments every year, the Earth's axis is tilted closely towards the Sun. And the hemisphere tilted toward the home star will see the longest day, whereas the hemisphere away from it will see the longest night.
2. What's the shortest daylight day of this year?
In 2021, winter solstice is slated to occur on the 21st of December, Tuesday. The winter solstice usually happens in the month of December in the northern hemisphere. It marks the 24-hour period with minimum daylight hours of the whole year. Thus, it's the longest night or shortest day of the year.
