December 21, 2009 is officially Winter Solstice 2009. Winter starts around noon EST, but from where I’m sitting winter started several weeks ago. The ground has been frozen, the wind has been whipping, and about 6 inches of fresh snow fell here early Sunday morning. I don’t need to observe Winter Solstice 2009 to get the notion that winter has officially started! It is also the shortest day of the year.
The Winter Solstice occurs exactly when the earth’s axial tilt is farthest away from the sun at its maximum of 23° 26′. Though the Winter Solstice lasts an instant in time, the term is also colloquially used like Midwinter to refer to the day on which it occurs. For most people in the high latitudes this is commonly known as the shortest day and the sun’s daily maximum position in the sky is the lowest. The seasonal significance of the Winter Solstice is in the reversal of the gradual lengthening of nights and shortening of days. Depending on the shift of the calendar, the winter solstice occurs some time between December 21 and December 22 each year in the Northern Hemisphere
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Dec 21st 2009 is Winter Solstice 2009: the Shortest Day of the Year
