What is the Winter Solstice? Exploring the Shortest Day of the Year
Key Highlights :
Winter is coming, and with it, the winter solstice. But what is the winter solstice? Why is it the shortest day of the year? And what can we expect from the 2023 winter solstice in Australia? Let’s explore the answers to these questions and more.
The winter solstice is one of those events that comes around every year, but many of us may not be fully aware of what it actually means. Put simply, the solstices and equinoxes are used to signal the change in seasons and are all based on the tilt of the Earth as it travels around the sun. The Earth rotates around the sun slightly off-centre, which is why we get different seasons.
The winter solstice marks the occasion when the Earth’s poles are at their maximum tilt away from the sun. In the southern hemisphere, this will be the winter solstice, while those in the northern hemisphere will experience the summer solstice.
The winter solstice is the day when we’ll see the least amount of daylight in 24 hours, due to the tilt of the Earth. This doesn’t mean there are fewer hours or minutes that make up the day, or that this is the day when the sun rises at its latest or sets at its earliest.
In 2023, the winter solstice will take place on Thursday, June 22. In Sydney, there will be roughly 9 hours and 53 minutes of daylight, although this varies depending on how far north or south you are. Hobart will have the lowest amount of daylight hours around the country with just 9 hours of light.
The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year, but this is in terms of daylight hours. The summer solstice in December marks the longest day of the year, with up to 4 hours and 30 minutes more daylight than the winter solstice.
There’s not really much to do on the winter solstice except pack some extra layers and prepare to head to and from work in the dark. But it’s still an important event to mark the changing of the seasons and to appreciate the beauty of the natural world.
