Welcome to the Wet & Wintery Solstice

Part of the Series “News
Produced by on June 21, 2016
Tags - Earth - Solstice


Winter Solstice image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Winter Solstice image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

It’s cold, wet and rainy in Gawler today, but, on the bright side, it won’t last long, because today is Winter Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere – the shortest day of the year.

At about 8:30 this morning the Southern Hemisphere was as far from the Sun as it gets in the Earth’s yearly progression around our star, which means that today we’ll only get about 10 hours of day, and 14 hours of night!

Solstices and equinoxes have been celebrated as special days in cultures throughout history and across the world, and have been used to mark changes – of seasons, of years, or in the cycles of life.

From now on the days will gradually start to get longer, we’ll see more and more sun each day, and before you know it Summer will be here again.

Like to know more about the solstices? Museum Victoria has a good little explanation here, or else the Australian Government’s Geoscience Australia Website also offers some good information to learn more.

Stay warm on this wintery day, and remember, it won’t take long to be over!

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