![]() The equinoxes occur in March and September, and mark when the Sun is exactly above the Equator. A hemisphere's winter solstice is its shortest day of the year, and its summer solstice is its longest. The two solstices occur in June and December, and mark when the Sun's path in the sky is the farthest north or south from the Equator. You may have heard about solstices and equinoxes, which signal the changing of the seasons, but what exactly are they? When the South Pole is tilted toward the Sun, it’s summer in the Southern Hemisphere and winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Thus, when the North Pole is tilted toward the Sun, it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere and winter in the Southern Hemisphere. This means that throughout the year, different parts of the planet receive the Sun’s most direct rays when it is tilted closer. This occurs because of the 23.5° tilt of the Earth, relative to its orbital plane. On these days, the sun rises directly above the main tower of the temple.Another solar phenomenon that we can watch over time via satellite imagery is the changing of the seasons. ) For the other half of the planet, September 22 is the vernal equinox, signalling the beginning of. ( See some of Britains best Autumn walks. Not to be left out, the spring and autumn equinoxes shine at the Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia. The Northern Hemisphere blew by the longest day of the year with June’s summer solstice, then the Autumn equinox on Septemthe day when the sun passes directly over Earth’s Equator. The incised entrance stone in front of the mouth of the passage to the burial chamber at Newgrange. Around the time of the winter solstice, the sun shines through a tiny window at the front of the mound as it rises, sending a beam of light down the passage and into the tomb. The monument is about 4,500 years old and constructed so that the avenue leading to the circle’s centre aligns with the spots on the horizon where the sun rises at the summer solstice and sets at the winter solstice.Ī 5,200-year-old passage tomb monument in Newgrange, Ireland, consists of a large mound containing a long passage leading to a burial chamber. One of the best-known examples, at least within the English-speaking world, is the large stone circle monument at Stonehenge in England. ![]() Many human societies have special ways to mark the solstices and equinoxes. September 22 or 23 marks the northern hemisphere autumnal or fall equinox. The vernal or spring equinox occurs in the northern hemisphere on March 21 or 22 (the fall equinox of the southern hemisphere). How miners quarried the pillars of Stonehenge During the equinoxes every location on our Earth (except the extreme poles) experiences 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. Hence, the seasons are reversed on opposite hemispheres. This has some important implications for us here on Earth: days are longer and warmer when the hemisphere we’re on is more tilted towards the sun, and shorter and colder when we’re tilted away. Solstices come around twice a year, in June and December.īecause the Earth spins on an angle, the northern hemisphere is facing towards the sun for half the year, and the southern hemisphere for the other half. Technically speaking, the solstice is the moment when the north or south pole of the Earth is either closest to or furthest away from the sun. But what exactly are these events, and why do they happen when they do? The sun begins to rise behind the stones as people gather to take part in the winter solstice celebrations at the Stonehenge prehistoric monument. As the September equinox rolls by, the chances to see the aurora borealis display increases for those located at high Northern Hemisphere latitudes. When it comes to astronomical events, the solstices and equinoxes are some of the most important to human cultures around the world and throughout history.
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