Earth’s tilt means the Sun both rises earlier and sets later as we head towards summer.
Articles on Winter solstice
Displaying all articles
The monument’s ancient connection to the skies may run even deeper than we realised.
Yule, celebrated by Wiccans and many other Pagans in the Northern Hemisphere on Dec. 21, the day of the winter solstice, is a time for reflection.
The longest and shortest days of the year are marked by the Sun’s position in the sky – but the seasons lag behind.
The dead of winter, when the longest night of the year takes place, has also traditionally been celebrated as a time of renewal and reverence.
A literature professor suggests some classic reads to curl up with when it is cold.
Evergreens have long served as symbols of life during the bleakness of winter. But Queen Victoria spurred the tradition that has become a global phenomenon.
The winter solstice is past, but bundle up – January is when winter really arrives in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere.
People stay up all night, telling stories and eating dried fruits, in addition to watermelon and pomegranate, to celebrate the sunrise soon after the longest night of the year.
The 2020 winter solstice is also when Saturn and Jupiter appear closest to each other for 60 years, Here’s what you need to know about both the events.
A conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn is giving rise to speculations that it is the same astronomical event as the biblical Star of Bethlehem. An expert explains why it is not.
The reason we have seasons is because, during its journey around the Sun, the Earth is tilted.
If we didn’t correct for gravitational effects on the Earth’s orbit, the winter solstice would shift backwards by a day every 72 years.
For indigenous peoples, winter solstice has been a time to honor their ancient sun deity. Their rituals reveal a deep understanding of the natural world.
At many Spanish missions in the US and Latin America, the rising sun illuminates the altar on the winter solstice or other symbolic days. To the faithful, these events meant that Christ was with them.
Top contributors
-
Professor of History, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
-
Chair/Professor, Division of Social, Behavioral & Global Studies, California State University, Monterey Bay
-
Postdoctoral research associate, University of Oxford
-
Acting Director and Astronomer, Dyer Observatory, Vanderbilt University
-
Director, Executive Leadership Academy, University of California, Berkeley
-
Senior Lecturer in Physics, Nottingham Trent University
-
Professor in Astrophysics, Emeritus, University of Colorado Boulder
-
Professor of English, General Literature and Rhetoric, Binghamton University, State University of New York
-
Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland
-
Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Ferrum College
-
Postdoctoral Researcher in Radio Astronomy, University of Sydney
-
Member of Kellogg College, University of Oxford and Visiting Fellow in Archaeology, Bournemouth University
-
Associate professor, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
-
Deputy Head of Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, Bournemouth University
-
Affliated Scholar at the Women's Studies Research Center, Brandeis University