winter in 2022 Solstice occurs for the Northern Hemisphere 21st DecemberWhile not as dramatic as 2020 conjunction of jupiter and saturnThe longest night of the year is a turning point. astronomical winter Begins, and the days slowly grow longer again.
Want to know why this happens? spoke to WIRED Tansu DayalanTo better understand the winter solstice and our planet's relationship with the Sun, a former Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) postdoctoral associate at MIT.
To imagine what's happening in space during the winter solstice, start by thinking of a giant glass ball orbiting Earth, and ignoring the planet's rotation (which complicates everything). . “If you look at the three-dimensional area that surrounds us, known as the celestial sphere, the Sun as well as all other objects in the solar system move through a plane in this celestial sphere,” says Dylan. is known as the ecliptic plane.”
“While doing this, the sun changes its slope,” he says. Leaning And right ascension The celestial sphere has two primary axes. “In this reference frame, the Sun is at its southernmost when the winter solstice occurs from our perspective in the Northern Hemisphere.”
The winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere occurs when north pole Is inclined the farthest away from the Sun. The Arctic Circle is shrouded in darkness and experiences the longest night of the year. In the Southern Hemisphere, the summer solstice occurs simultaneously when the South Pole is tilted toward the Sun and the Antarctic Circle experiences midnight Sun,
NASA's online Basics of Space Flight tutorial includes a section celestial sphere with illustration For anyone who would enjoy exploring this idea further.
The low position of the Sun during the winter solstice will cause you to afternoon shadow To be exceptionally tall. Even though it is important to humans, the solstice has no special meaning in relation to the larger universe.
“The solstice is defined with respect to the Earth-Sun system, not necessarily the entire solar system. We give it a lot of meaning because the Sun is very sacred to us, and as a function of time throughout the year, its place on the celestial sphere is very important,'' says Dylan. “It determines the climate. Throughout the year, it tells us when crops will ripen. So it's very important, especially for historical civilizations.”