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Wake up to the Winter Solstice! Event Cache

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Hidden : Wednesday, December 21, 2016
Difficulty:
1 out of 5
Terrain:
1 out of 5

Size: Size:   other (other)

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Geocache Description:

This year the winter solstice falls on 21st December. The actual moment of solstice is at 10.44 GMT but I'll be at work then, so this event marks the event instead. Just to make it interesting I've made this a SUNRISE event

The sun will rise here at 8.15 am. This event is from 8am - 8.30am. Why not pop along for a quick chat and mark the middle of winter? Shorts and flip flops optional...


There are two solitices in a calandar year, in December and June. They mark the point in the Earth's journey around the Sun at which our planet's axis is inclined directly towards the sun. In the northern hemisphere this means that today we are at our furthest to the sun, hence winter!


As this is a sunrise event, we won't actually see it happening clearly from here as the sun will rise 'behind' us to the east. However, this is as good a place as any to meet up! You might want to bring a flask though...

What is the Solstice?


Did you ever wonder why the days are so long in the summer and so short in the winter? The length changes throughout the year. In the summer, around June 21st or 22nd, we experience the summer solstice, which is the longest day of the year. And in the winter, December 21st or 22nd is the winter solstice, or shortest day.

The answer all depends on Earth's tilt. In the course of one year, Earth orbits around the sun. It does not complete this trip, however, with the North Pole at the top and the South Pole at the bottom because Earth is tilted. In fact, it's tilted just about 23.5º. So at different times of the year, either the northern or the southern hemisphere is tilted toward and is therefore closer to the sun.

So if you live in the northern hemisphere (north of the equator), Earth is tilted toward the sun in the summer andaway from the sun in the winter. The solstice marks the turning point, when the days begin to grow longer (in the winter) or when they begin to grow shorter (in the summer). At the solstice itself, however, the sun appears to stand still in the sky for a few days before and after. The word solstice, in fact, comes from the Latin for sunto stand still.

 

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