Winter solstice, Dec. 21
Ancient celestial gears pause today as the sun reaches its lowest point in the sky and begins a return trek north that marks the fifirst day of winter and the shortest day of the year.
The winter solstice, an astronomical nod to autumn’s passing, is when the sun shines directly on the Tropic of Capricorn, stealing daylight from the Northern Hemisphere as the Southern Hemisphere revels in sun.
It means West Palm Beach will see 10 hours and 27 minutes of Check local conditions, see live radar and keep up with reporter Kimberly Miller’s weather updates. The free PBPost Weather app is available on iTunes and at Google Play. Search for Palm Beach Post WeatherPlus.
daylight today, 24 percent less than during the summer solstice on June 20 when the day lasted 13 hours and 49 minutes.
Bob Berman, astronomy editor for The Old Farmer’s Almanac and author of “Zoom: How Everything Moves,” said the winter solstice is a signifificant event that once earned great homage from humans.
It is one of the connections b e t we e n E a r t h a n d s k y a n d our lives,” Berman said. It is a remaining link to a time when more primitive cultures really cared about the moon and the sky because it was central to their lives.”
Today’s solstice occurs at 5:44 a.m.
“That is the exact instant when the center of the sun’s disc crosses the Tropic of Capricorn at 23.5 degrees south,” said Sam Storch, a retired astronomy professor and a member of the Astronomical Society of the Palm Beaches. “It is my favorite day of the year because it has the longest starry night.”
The winter solstice this year corresponds with the Ursid meteor shower, which peaks tonight, Winter solstice marks the shortestest day of the yeear when the sun shines directlyy on the TropicTc of Capricorn.