Solstice Factoids
There are two solstices in a calendar 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 nearest to the sun, hence summer!
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.
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 sun + to stand still.
As we live in the northern hemisphere (north of the equator), our half (hemisphere) of Earth is tilted toward the sun in the summer and away from the sun in the winter. The opposite is true for those living south of the equator for whom today marks their winter solstice and the start of their journey towards summer
- The actual moment of solstice is at 05:24 which is, for me at least, the middle of the night! Instead we'll gather here upon this sacred hill to watch the first sunset after the solstice.
- Sunset actually occurs at 21:33, giving a total of 16 hours 58 minutes and 41 seconds of daylight. That's one second more than the previous day and five more than the next day!
- The sun will set not exactly in the west but at a bearing of 313 degrees- roughly in the north-west
- The sun will be at its highest point today at 13:04 at an altitude of 60% above the horizon.
Stonehenge: fake news?
Despite some strong photographic evidence,some astronomers feel that the Sun does not quite rise exactly above Stonehenge's so-called Heel Stone on the morning of the equinox when viewed from inside the stones, as is often claimed. They state that all those lovely photographs showing the midsummer sun rising above the Heel stone are a con trick - the sun has already risen and is part of the way on in its journey round the sky. However, apart from this fact, the Heel stone had a partner, and when the partner was still standing, the midsummer sun would have been framed by this pair of standing stones as the first rays of dawn shone through a stone corridor into the heart of Stonehenge. It's still a pretty amazing piece of engineering for a 4,500 year-old structure!