Winter Solstice. The longest night of the year – La Prensa de Honduras

Madrid, Spain.

Winter has come to the northern hemisphere and, as always, Google has given its visitors an interactive Doodle as Christmas. Two children complete a plump snowman and Santa Claus helped by a friendly lady who gives them a carrot to finish the funny nose of the snowman. All to celebrate the arrival of the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere.

The longest night of the year begins on the Internet with this Doodle. Of course, like everything in life, after the long night the day comes. Yes, the day will be less daylight hours of the year. But every step is a step forward from tomorrow and every day will increase its duration to the detriment of the night. A win, light over darkness, which is the source of so many traditions and festivals that fill the geography of this part of the globe.

It is not yet winter

The astronomical winter of 2014-2015 will start on Monday 22 December at 00.03 hours, according to estimates from the National Astronomical Observatory. This station will last 88 days and 23 hours and end on March 20, 2015 with the beginning of spring.

During the winter of 2014-2015, the Venus and Mars will be readily visible facing west after sunset, and Saturn vera south-east before sunrise. Jupiter entry will be night, and February 6 will be in opposition, when it will reach its maximum annual gloss and flow from the east at the time the sun sets in the west.

The Sun does not rise

The start of the seasons is given by convention, for those moments when Earth is in a certain position in its orbit around the sun. In For winter, this position is given at the point of the ecliptic where the Sun reaches its southernmost position. The day this happens, the Sun reaches its maximum south declination (-23 ° 27 ‘) and for several days maximum height unchanged at noon, and therefore, this circumstance is also called solstice (“Sun still”) winter. At this time in the southern hemisphere summer begins.

The day of the winter solstice corresponds to the shorter of the year. About this time are the day when the sun rises later and sets one in which sooner.

If you mean by daylength the time between sunrise and sunset in a given place, the next day December 22 will be the day of shorter duration. For example, in Madrid this duration is 9 hours and 17 minutes, compared with 15 hours and 3 minutes that lasted the longest day (which in 2014 was the June 21).

You might think that the shortest day of the year will also be the day the sun rises later and put sooner; but is not it: this is because the Earth’s orbit around the sun is not circular but elliptical because the Earth’s axis is tilted in a direction that has nothing to do with the axis of the ellipse. This also makes a sundial and our clocks based on a fictional Sun, are misaligned. The day when the sun sets sooner the December 8, while the day the sun will later be the January 4, 2015.

Different dates

The onset of winter can be, at most, four different calendar dates (from 20 to 23 December). Throughout the century the winter will begin in 20 to 22 December (Spanish official date), with its start on the year’s early 2096 and later onset 2003. The variations from one year to another are due to the way that fits the sequence of years according to the calendar (a leap, some not) with the duration of each orbit of the Earth around the Sun (known as tropical year duration).

Taken from ABC .