Although it is not commonly used in our daily lives, the word solstice represents two moments that many love and others hate (and vice versa): the arrival of winter or summer.
On these days, the Sun’s position in the sky appears to be “still” for a short period. It is from this illusion that the name solstice comes from, which comes from Latin and means “Sun still”. This Sunday (21), the winter solstice takes place in the southern hemisphere of the Earth (and the summer solstice in the northern part).
The shortest day of the year for the southern hemisphere marks the beginning of winter – which, here in Brazil, began, more precisely, at 5:27 am (Brasília time), according to the astronomical observation guide In-The-Sky.org.
Let’s understand:
- Solstice is an astronomical phenomenon that occurs twice a year and marks the beginning of summer and winter;
- In technical terms, it is when the Sun reaches the greatest or smallest inclination in relation to the Equator;
- This occurs because the Earth obeys both a translational movement around the star and a rotational movement on its own axis;
- Therefore, the incidence of light on the hemispheres is different.
Solstice date varies each year
During the summer solstice, the Sun reaches its highest height in the sky. On occasion, the day is longer and the night is shorter. In winter, it’s the opposite, the star reaches its lowest point, making the day shorter and the night longer.
Thus, during the solstices, it is also observed that on the Equator, days and nights always have 12 hours. The Arctic and Antarctic polar circles have a single day of the year with 24 hours of light or darkness.
The exact dates of the solstices can vary each year. They generally take place between the 20th and 22nd of June and between the 20th and 23rd of December. In Brazil, as in the entire southern hemisphere, in June there is the winter solstice and in December, the summer solstice.
Source: www.olhardigital.com.br
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