The day of the solstice is either the longest day of the year (in summer) or the shortest day of the year (in winter) for any place outside of the tropics. The term solstice can also be used in a broader sense, as the date (day) when this occurs. During the December Solstice the Sun’s rays shine on the Tropic of Capricorn. During the June Solstice the rays of the Sun shine directly on the Tropic of Cancer. On these solstices, the rays of the Sun shine directly on one of the two Tropics. This usually happens around June 21st and December 21st.
Solstices are often marked by various celebrations that go back generations the most well known of which is the Christmas holiday celebrated a few days after the December Solstice which borrows many of its traditions from earlier pagan traditions that date back thousands of years.Solstices and Equinoxes | The Seasons Are About To ChangeĪt two points throughout the year, the tilt of the Earth’s axis reaches its maximum angle compared to the Sun, and begins to move back the other direction. The solstice (combining the Latin words sol for “Sun” and sistere for “To Stand Still”) is the point where the Sun appears to reach either its highest or lowest point in the sky for the year and thus ancient astronomers came to know the day as one where the Sun appeared to stand still. The opposite is true for the December Solstice when summer begins in the Southern Hemisphere and winter starts in the North. In the most northerly regions of the planet days or weeks may pass without the sun actually setting below the horizon while in Antarctica is may remain dark for a comparable amount of time. In the Northern Hemisphere, the June Solstice heralds the astronomical beginning of summer and is the day with the most daylight in the year. Occuring in June and December, the solstice marks either the start of winter or the start of summer.
This results in a variety of effects for our planet ranging from significant temperature shifts and meteorological differences as well as more or less light and energy coming from the Sun, which we know as seasons. This obliquity means that during certain parts of the year, the Southern Hemisphere is slightly more exposed to the Sun’s rays while they Northern Hemisphere is less exposed and vice versa.
Without an axial tilt, we would not have seasons in the way that we do and life on this planet could have developed much differently to account for more constant weather and climate conditions at each latitude of our planet. Why Do We Have Seasons?Įarth’s seasons are a direct result of the Earth’s 23° tilt in the Earth’s axis, known as an axial tilt.
#Equinox definition kids series
The particular dates are targeted by scientists at the boundary between our seasons because of a series of factors based upon the relationship between the Earth and the Sun, the tilt in the Earth’s axis and how those factors play out for all of us living here on the third rock from the Sun. Astronomically, our planet’s seasons change on four particular days each year, two solstices, one in June and one in December, and two equinoxes (one in March and one in September).
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