Winter Solstice: Here's all you need to know about the shortest day of the year

Yes the darkest day of the year is here but that means brighter days are aheadSunday December 21 is the shortest day of the year north of the equator where the solstice marks the start of astronomical winter Its the opposite in the Southern Hemisphere where it is the longest day of the year and summer will startThe word solstice comes from the Latin words sol for sun and stitium which can mean pause or stop The solstice is an end of the suns annual march higher or lower in the skyThe winter solstice is when the sun makes its shortest lowest arc The good news for sun lovers It then starts climbing again and days will get a little longer every day until late JunePeople have marked solstices for eons with celebrations and monuments such as Stonehenge which was designed to align with the suns paths at the solstices But what is happening in the heavens Heres what to know about the Earths orbitWhat is the solsticeAs the Earth travels around the sun it does so at an angle making the suns warmth and light fall unequally on the northern and southern halves of the planet for most of the yearThe solstices mark the times when the Earths tilt toward or away from the sun is at its maximum This means the hemispheres are getting very different amounts of sunlight iquest and days and nights are at their most unequalAt the Northern Hemispheres winter solstice the upper half of the Earth is at its furthest lean away from the sun iquest leading to the shortest day and longest night of the year The winter solstice falls can fall between December 20 and 23 iquest this year its the 21stThe opposite happens at a Northern Hemisphere summer solstice The upper half of the Earth is leaning toward the sun creating the longest day and shortest night of the year This solstice falls between June 20 and 22What is the equinoxDuring the equinox the Earths axis and its orbit align so that both hemispheres get an equal amount of sunlightThe word equinox comes from two Latin words meaning equal and night Thats because on the equinox day and night last almost the same amount of time iquest though one may get a few extra minutes depending on where you are on the planetThe Northern Hemispheres fall or autumnal equinox can land between September 21 and 24 depending on the year Its spring or vernal equinox can land between March 19 and 21Whats the difference between meteorological and astronomical seasonsThese are just two different ways to carve up the yearWhile astronomical seasons depend on how the Earth moves around the sun meteorological seasons are defined by the weather Meteorologists break down the year into threemonth seasons based on annual temperature cycles By that calendar spring starts on March 1 summer on June 1 fall on September 1 and winter on December 1This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever