Daylight hours will dwindle to their shortest on Thursday as the earth’s tilt pushes the southern pole to its farthest point away from the sun and ushers in the winter solstice for those south of the equator.
The winter solstice doesn’t necessarily see the latest sunrise and earliest sunset. Rather, it’s the shortest amount of time between sunrise and sunset, when the sun takes its lowest and quickest path across the sky.
Sydney will get nine hours and 54 minutes of daylight and Melbourne will have nine hours and 32 minutes. It won’t be as grim in Brisbane, which will have 10 hours and 24 minutes. The word “solstice” is drawn from the Latin word for sun, “sol”, and “sistere”, which means to stand still.The earth has a tilt of 23.5 degrees in relation to its orbital axis, or the loop it follows as it travels around the sun. This tilt or “wobble” creates the seasons.
As the earth reaches its minimum tilt in about 10,000 years, seasons will become milder and more ice will build up near Antarctica and the Arctic, because the tilt isn’t exposing the poles as extremely to the sun each summer.At Casey Station, an Australia research post in Antarctica, the day will only be 2 and a half hours long. Within the Antarctic circle, earth’s southernmost latitude, there will be no daylight at all.
Crowds gather at Elizabeth Bay House to watch the sun stream through the front door during Winter Solstice.At dawn on Wednesday and Thursday, people will line the halls of Elizabeth Bay House in Sydney to watch the sun spill through the door.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Police release photos in hunt for men after brazen daylight executionDetectives are appealing the public for dash cam footage and released images of two men as they investigate the gangland execution of a 24-year-old man on the driveway of his own Sydney home.
Read more »
Thursday will be the shortest day of the year — here's why that might seem out of sync with the seasonsWinter solstice is only a few days away but it doesn't mark the beginning of winter in Australia. It also doesn't mark the middle of winter or even the coldest day of the year.
Read more »
Why Macquarie is taking a look at EnergyAustraliaOPINION: Brookfield showed the way, now the local investment giant has followed. Both show there is value in owning an electricity provider with a big customer base.
Read more »
Why investors are knowingly buying into an AI bubbleInvestment in artificial intelligence has become very frothy, but that doesn’t mean it’s just another tech fad like blockchain or the metaverse, veteran investors say.
Read more »
Why Vladimir Putin is hoping for a long war in UkraineVladimir Putin has a brutal new strategy to ensure Russia's invasion of Ukraine is 'a long process'. It means there are now strategic and humanitarian imperatives for the West to defeat Putin's latest theory of victory, writes Mick Ryan.
Read more »
It's not just Oprah anymore — why celebrity book clubs are boomingFrom Oprah to Reese Witherspoon, Kaia Gerber and now Dua Lipa the celebrity book club trend has never been more popular. But do they have the same influence as they once did?
Read more »