This article explores the celestial wonders of winter nights, linking them to the holiday season and ancient traditions. It delves into the history of Christmas and Saturnalia, highlighting their connection to the winter solstice.
Jam packed issues filled with the latest cutting-edge research, technology and theories delivered in an entertaining and visually stunning way, aiming to educate and inspire readers of all ages. Christmas week is here. And the night sky obliges by presenting a beautiful display of celestial sights, perfectly timed out to coincide with the holiday. In ancient times, Dec.
25 was the date of the lavish Roman festival of Saturnalia, a sort of bacchanalian thanksgiving to the god of agriculture, for whom the slowest moving of the then-known planets,, was named. Saturnalia was celebrated on the date of the winter solstice by the calendar then in use, and it also marked the fact thatIt has been said that early Christians chose the date of Saturnalia on which to celebrate Christmas in order to avoid attention and thus escape persecution. When the Roman emperor Constantine officially adopted Christianity in the 4th century, the date of Christmas remained Dec. 25.Joe Rao is a veteran meteorologist and eclipse chaser who also serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. Among the many varied customs linked with this special season for thousands of years, the exchanging of gifts is almost universal. Nature offers us the two gifts of longest nights and a sky more transparent than usual. Newcomers to astronomy often assume that winter's especially dark skies mean all forms of observing are at their best. But this is far from so. The'crystal clear' winter skies and'unusually bright stars' are due to two factors. First, the cold temperatures prevent the air from holding as much moisture as in summer; less haze and greater atmospheric transparency are the result. This is also why daytime skies in winter are generally a deeper, crisper blue. Second, the stars overhead at this time of year are brighter than those of summe
Culture Holiday History Astronomy Christmas Saturnalia Winter Solstice Celestial Gifts
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