What is the winter solstice? Holidays, science, live streaming

In 2022, winter the solstice occurs for the northern hemisphere December 21. Although not as dramatic as the 2020s Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturnthe longest night of the year is a significant turning point. Astronomical winter begins and the days gradually lengthen again.

I wonder why this happens. WIRED chatted Tansu Deilaformer Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) postdoctoral fellow at MIT to better understand the winter solstice and our planet’s relationship to the sun.

To visualize what happens in space during the winter solstice, start by thinking of a giant glass ball surrounding the Earth and let’s ignore the rotation of the planet (which complicates things). “If you look at the three-dimensional sphere around us, known as the celestial sphere, the sun, as well as the other bodies in the solar system, move through this celestial plane, known as the ecliptic plane.”

“The sun changes its tilt as it does this,” he says. decline and: right up are the two main axes of the celestial sphere. “In this frame of reference, the sun is at its southernmost point when it is the winter solstice from our perspective in the northern hemisphere.”

The winter solstice in the northern hemisphere occurs when north pole it is tilted farthest from the sun.The arctic region is covered in darkness and experiences the longest night of the year.The summer solstice occurs at the same time as the south pole is tilted toward the sun and the antarctic region. midnight sun.

NASA’s online manual, Fundamentals of Space Flight, includes a section celestial sphere with illustrations for anyone who would like to explore the idea further.

The sun’s low position during the winter solstice will cause your afternoon shadow be exceptionally long. Although it is important to humans, the solstice is not very important to the larger universe.

“The solstice is defined by the Earth-Sun system, not necessarily by the entire Solar System. We attach great importance to it because the Sun is so sacred to us, and its location in the celestial sphere as a function of time throughout the year is very important. important,” says Daylan. “It sets the climate. Throughout the year, it tells us when the crops will ripen. So it’s very important for historical civilizations.”