All about the 2022 winter solstice
Dec. 21 is the 2022 winter solstice, marking the day with the least amount of daylight of the year for the northern hemisphere and the most amount of daylight for the southern hemisphere. The exact time of the solstice is 4:48 pm ET, which is the time of sunset in the northern hemisphere. The solstice occurs when the sun is directly above the Tropic of Capricorn, its most southern point of the year, CNN explains. The further north you live, the less daylight you will have.
The Earth experiences winter and summer solstices because the planet's orbit around the sun occurs at a tilt of approximately 23.5 degrees. In turn, the winter solstice occurs when the South Pole is tilted towards the sun, giving the southern hemisphere more daylight and the northern hemisphere less, Space.com explains. The opposite is true for the summer solstice.
The winter solstice is also the day for a number of traditions around the world. A number of places have midwinter festivals that take place on the solstice. Our ancestors also recognized the solstice with some fearing that the sun would disappear, reports The Wall Street Journal. Humans' understanding of the solstices was seen even thousands of years ago, like in the construction of Stonehenge, the structure of which aligns with both solstices.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Many cultures also believe the solstice to be spiritually significant with many holidays and celebrations occurring around the time, writes the Los Angeles Times. According to Ed Krupp, director of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. "It gives people a signal about the cosmic order that surrounds them and seems to govern their lives, and also gives them an opportunity to anticipate what is coming next."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Devika Rao has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022, covering science, the environment, climate and business. She previously worked as a policy associate for a nonprofit organization advocating for environmental action from a business perspective.
-
Today's political cartoons - October 20, 2024
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - Secret Service flaws, weather control, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 cartoon critiques of the Kamala Harris media blitz
Cartoons Artists take on 60 surrealist minutes, word salad, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Did the Covid virus leak from a lab?
The Explainer Once dismissed as a conspiracy theory, the idea that Covid-19 originated in a virology lab in Wuhan now has many adherents
By The Week UK Published
-
NASA's Europa Clipper blasts off, seeking an ocean
Speed Read The ship is headed toward Jupiter on a yearslong journey
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Humans are near peak life expectancy, study finds
Speed Read Unless there is a transformative breakthrough in medical science, people on average will reach the age of 87
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Detailed map of fly's brain holds clues to human mind
Speed Read This remarkable fruit fly brain analysis will aid in future human brain research
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Bacteria is evolving to live (and infect) in space
Under the Radar The ISS has new micro-habitants
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Earth may be gaining a temporary moon
Under the radar A planetary plus-one
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Finger-prickin' good: Are simpler blood tests seeing new life years after Theranos' demise?
Today's Big Question One Texas company is working to bring these tests back into the mainstream
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
10 recent scientific breakthroughs
In Depth From cell reparation to monkey communication
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Is billionaire's 'risky' space flight about research or tourism?
In the Spotlight Jared Isaacman takes an all-private crew to space
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published