There is a chill in the air, which means we are inching closer to winter solstice – the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. This year, the winter solstice will occur on 21 December.
In the Southern Hemisphere, in places like Australia, New Zealand, or South Africa, conversely, the Summer Solstice will occur; making 22 December the year’s longest day.
The explanation lies in Earth’s tilt. And it’s not just the Earth – every planet in the Solar System is tilted, all at different angles.
During the winter solstice, the Northern Hemisphere is at its maximum tilt away from the sun, putting the sun at a lower elevation. The rays of the sun falls directly on the Tropic of Capricorn, which is south of the equator.
Rare Celestial Event on Winter Solstice 2020
A rare celestial treat awaits stargazers of the world on 21 December as two of our solar system's largest planets, Jupiter and Saturn, will look like “double planet" just after sunset.
This is the first time the two gas giants will appear this close to each other in nearly 800 years.
"Alignments between these two planets are rather rare, occurring once every 20 years or so, but this conjunction is exceptionally rare because of how close the planets will appear to one another," Patrick Hartigan, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Rice University in Houston, Texas, said in a statement.
Although Jupiter and Saturn have been approaching one another in Earth's sky since the summer, the two will be separated by less than the diameter of a full moon from 16-25 December.
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