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In its translation, the Earth describes an elliptical orbit around the Sun, which lasts for 365 days and a little over 6 hours. In turn, the Earth presents an inclination of its axis of rotation of approximately 23.5 degrees with respect to the Sun. Both circumstances cause the succession of seasons and suppose the reason why the amount of sunlight that falls on the northern and southern hemispheres of the planet is uneven depending on the time of year in which we are. Thus, it will be summer in the hemisphere that, at a given moment, is inclined towards the Sun (since the solar rays affect this area more directly and increase the temperature), while in the opposite hemisphere it will be winter.
In this Green Ecologist article we talk about winter solstice 2022 in the northern and southern hemispheres, as well as we explain what the solstices consist of, when they take place and how they differ from the equinoxes.
What is winter solstice
The doubt of what are the solstices it is quite common. The word solstice comes from Latin, specifically from the term "Solstitium", What does it mean "Still sun". Two solstices are known, the summer solstice and the winter solstice, which correspond to the longest and shortest days of the year on the planet, respectively.
The Winter Solstice It occurs when one of the terrestrial hemispheres (north or south) is inclined at its most extreme angle and away from the Sun, taking place at different times of the year in each of these hemispheres. Thus, in the Northern Hemisphere the winter solstice takes place in December, when the North Pole is tilted as far as possible from the Sun, which is why it is the day with the fewest daylight hours and the longest night of the year. . From this day on, the duration of the days will increase and that of the nights, gradually decreasing. For its part, in the southern hemisphere the winter solstice takes place in the month of June.
When is the winter solstice 2022
As mentioned at the beginning of the article, the duration of a complete Earth orbit lasts just over 365 days, which is why a leap year occurs every four years. Due to the calendar offset we use, the exact dates of the solstices can vary from year to year, both in hours and days.
It should be noted that, depending on the hemisphere to which we are referring, the seasons will be one or the other at the same specific moment and, therefore, the winter and summer solstices and the spring and autumn equinoxes take place in different dates in the northern and southern hemisphere.
In the northern hemisphere, the summer solstice takes place between June 20 and 22, at which time the North Pole is more directly inclined towards the Sun, which implies that it is the day with the most hours of light of the year. In the southern hemisphere, the seasons are reversed and, therefore, the opposite situation occurs. Thus, the winter solstice takes place in June and the summer solstice in December.
Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere
In the year 2022, the winter solstice in the northern part of the planet will take place on December 21, which is a Tuesday, at 15:59 UTC.
Winter solstice in the southern hemisphere
On the other hand, the winter solstice of 2022 in the southern part of the Earth will occur on June 21, which is a Monday, at 3:31 UTC.
As a curiosity related to the solstices, we recommend this other article about Why do the seasons of the year exist.
Difference between solstice and equinox - simple definition
It is very common to confuse the solstices and the equinoxes, so here we define each of these terms well, thus showing their difference.
- The orbit that the Earth describes is elliptical in shape, so it has two axes of different sizes. The solstices take place as the Earth passes through the point of one of the ends of major axis.
- Equinoxes, for their part, are the points within the orbit that coincide with the minor axis ends of said orbit. The spring and autumn equinoxes mark the times when the Sun is above the equator, and there are the same hours of light as of darkness, and they take place in the month of March and September, respectively. Learn more about them with these other posts about the 2022 Spring Equinox: Northern and Southern Hemisphere and about the 2022 Fall Equinox: Northern and Southern Hemisphere.
If you want to read more articles similar to Winter Solstice 2022: Northern and Southern Hemisphere, we recommend that you enter our category of Curiosities of the Earth and the universe.
