The Winter Solstice is associated the shortest daylight hours of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and occurs this year at 10:28 a.m. CST.
Due to the tilt of the earth’s axis and the position of the earth in orbit, the northern hemisphere is tilted further from the sun, and the southern hemisphere is tilted toward the sun.
The sun shines directly on the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere, which is the southernmost position of the sun south of the equator during the year. The Tropic of Capricorn is about 23°26′ South. Anyone at the Tropic of Capricorn sees the sun directly 90° overhead today.
There are only four countries south of the Tropic of Capricorn.
Ironic facts about the Winter Solstice …
The Winter Solstice is not the day of the earliest sunset. The earliest sunset in Chicago in 2017 occurred from December 3 through December 13 due to the difference in true solar time (using a sundial) and 24 hour clock time based on Mean Solar Time.
The earth is not the furthest from the sun on the Winter Solstice. The sun is actually closest to the sun (Perihelion) during the northern hemisphere Winter.
Because of heat lag caused caused by the presence on earth of large amounts of water, which has a high latent heat of freezing and of condensation. The coldest average temperatures in Chicago occur January 17-20.
Today is the #WinterSolstice, which is also the shortest day of the year! What are solstices & equinoxes, and why do they occur? Get the answers: https://t.co/mkHZB4YbMj pic.twitter.com/0F9V2o3EE6
— NASA (@NASA) December 21, 2017
Happy #Solstice! Many on our team see two winter solstices each year because we spend June and July operating from Christchurch, New Zealand, in the Southern Hemisphere. Learn more about our southern observations from this year: https://t.co/GHOSymSyX6 pic.twitter.com/e10NIaKJtc
— SOFIAtelescope (@SOFIAtelescope) December 21, 2017
Winter Solstice was at 10:28 AM CST (corrected time). pic.twitter.com/DdxEomC5Ix
— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) December 21, 2017
Happy #WinterSolstice! Celebrate the rebirth of the sun with our new original song, “Nordic Solstice”!! Rejoice as this day reminds us that darkness will not hold. We celebrate a new light as we move forward and begin again!
Full vid ➡️ https://t.co/eTTghvhjqG pic.twitter.com/fqo2aaOoEp— Harp Twins (@CamilleKennerly) December 21, 2017
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