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Credit & Copyright: Danilo Pivato
Explanation:
Today the solstice occurs
at 23:03
Universal Time,
the Sun reaching its southernmost
declination in planet
Earth's sky.
Of course, the
December solstice marks
the beginning of
winter in the northern hemisphere and summer in the south.
When viewed from northern latitudes,
and as shown in the above horizontally
compressed image, the Sun will make its
lowest arc
through the sky along the southern horizon.
So in the north, the
solstice day has the shortest length of time between
sunrise and sunset and fewest hours of daylight.
This striking composite image follows the Sun's path through the December solstice
day of 2005 in a beautiful blue
sky, looking down the
Tyrrhenian Sea
coast from Santa Severa toward Fiumicino,
Italy.
The view
covers about 115 degrees in 43 separate, well-planned
exposures from sunrise to sunset.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: winter solstice
Publications with words: winter solstice
See also: