Solstice occurs twice a year when the sun is at the highest or the lowest point as seen from the poles. Solstices mark the beginning of summer and winter in the southern and the northern hemisphere. This phenomenon occurs when the earth’s axis is tilted towards or away from the sun’s rays. The occurrence has an impact on the amount of daylight experienced in different parts of the planet. Solstices occur twice in a year; around June 21 and December 21. These seasons are opposite because Winter solstice in one Hemisphere is the Summer Solstice in the other Hemisphere. Summer Solstice marks the beginning of summer while the winter Solstice marks the beginning of winter (Tyrer, “The differences between solstice and equinox”).
Summer solstice occurs around 21st June in the northern hemisphere and 21st December in the southern hemisphere. Solstices affect the lengths of days and nights in the hemispheres. During this time, the hemisphere experiences the shortest night, and the longest day of the year and the pole receives 24 hours daylight with no darkness (Tyrer, “The differences between solstice and equinox”). However, the sunrise and the sunset vary from one city to the other. Winter Solstice in the northern hemisphere occurs around 21st December and around 21st June in the southern hemisphere. During this time, the hemisphere experiences the longest night and the shortest day of the year while the pole experiences 24-hour darkness (Tyrer, “The differences between solstice and equinox”). Nevertheless, areas along the equator are not affected by the solstices because they receive the same length of days and nights all through the year. Places within 60 degrees from the equator or 5 degrees in the Arctic Circle sometimes experience “white nights” when the sun remain at the horizon line.
Unlike the solstices, equinoxes occurs when the sun crosses the celestial equator making the days and nights equal in all the latitudes, and they occur around 20th march and 22nd September. Vernal equinox occurs in March when the sun is moving northwards, and it marks the beginning of autumn in the southern hemisphere and spring in the northern hemisphere. Autumnal equinox occurs in September when the sun is moving southwards, and it marks the beginning of spring in the southern hemisphere and autumn in the northern hemisphere. The difference between the solstices and the equinoxes is the location of the sun in relation to the celestial equator (Tyrer, “The differences between solstice and equinox”).Solstices occurs when the sun is at the farthest point from the equator while the equinoxes occur when the sun is closest to the equator.
Work Cited
Tyrer, Mary. The differences between solstice and equinox. Helium website, 2008. Web. 10
Nov 2012.
