What Is The Winter Solstice? When Is It This Year?

The winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, occurs annually and officially marks the beginning of the winter season. This year’s winter solstice is scheduled for this Thursday, December 21.

WINTER SOLSTICE 2017

The solstice will happen in the United States, and all regions in the Northern Hemisphere, on 11:28 a.m. Given Earth’s rotation around its axis on this day is tilted the farthest from the sun, this is the day of the year with the least sunlight illuminating the sky. The exact amount of daylight available will vary depending on where you are situated. Current readings assert the sun will set on 4:31 p.m. in New York, for example, therefore giving its citizens just over nine hours of light. However, starting from December 22, the nights will gradually become shorter until the summer solstice in June.

Certain traditions honoring the day are celebrated across the world, such as the Stonehenge Winter Solstice Tour. People from across the globe travel to Stonehenge to enjoy its annual party. The exact purpose for which the roughly 5,000-year-old Stonehenge was built is a mystery, though it’s speculated by some that it was used to determine solstices and equinoxes.

Incidentally, some have expressed concern over this year’s winter solstice. Astronomer Neil Spencer is one such individual, as he discussed on his blog. Spencer writes how, for the first time since 1664, the Sun will move into Capricorn mere hours apart from Saturn doing the same. He stresses how the phenomena on the 21 could have adverse affects in his horoscopes. “In one’s personal horoscope, Saturn in Capricorn is a very useful placement, denoting one tough individual, but on a macro-level, it doesn’t promise much in the way of fruitful change” he writes.