Solstice :
★ The word solstice is formed from two Latin words; sol (sun) and sistere(stand).
★ The solstice occurs twice in each circuit of the earth around the sun.
★ A circuit of the sun is a year, so there are two solstices a year, winter and summer.
★ A solstice is one of the two days in a year when either the day is longest and night is shortest (summer solstice) or the day is shortest and the night is longest (winter solstice).
★ It is the first day of the Season of Summer.
★ The summer solstice is when the sun appears to be at its greatest and the day is at its longest.
★ On this day (JUNE 21 in the northern hemisphere*) the Sun is farthest north and the length of time between Sunrise and Sunset is the longest of the year.
┗▶ Winter Solstice :
★ It is the first day of the Season of Winter.
★ The winter solstice is when there is the least amount of sun.
★ On this day (DECEMBER 22 in the northern hemisphere*) the Sun is farthest south and the length of time between Sunrise and Sunset is the shortest of the year.
★ In the Southern Hemispheres, the solstices are reversed.
★ Around the winter solstice, when the nights are longest, many cultures have celebrations, like Saturnalia, Hanukah, and Christmas.
★ The other two seasons, fall and spring, are marked by the equinoxes when day and night are roughly equal.
Equinox :
★ The name "equinox" is derived from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night), because around the equinox, the night and day have approximately equal length.
★ It is either of the days when the Sun is crossing the equator (an imaginary line around the middle of the Earth) and it is an equal distance from the North Pole and the South Pole.
★ It is the first day of the Season of Spring - and the beginning of a long period of sunlight at the Pole.
┗▶ Spring Equinox :
★ In the northern hemisphere: MARCH 20 (the Sun crosses the Equator moving northward).
★ In the southern hemisphere: SEPTEMBER 22 (the Sun crosses the Equator moving southward).
┗▶Autumn Equinox :
★ It is the first day of the Season of Autumn - and the beginning of a long period of darkness at the Pole.
★ In the northern hemisphere: SEPTEMBER 22 (the Sun crosses the Equator moving southward).
★ In the southern hemisphere: MARCH 20 (the Sun crosses the Equator moving northward).
★ In the Southern Hemispheres, the solstices are reversed.
★ Around the winter solstice, when the nights are longest, many cultures have celebrations, like Saturnalia, Hanukah, and Christmas.
★ The other two seasons, fall and spring, are marked by the equinoxes when day and night are roughly equal.
Equinox :
★ The name "equinox" is derived from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night), because around the equinox, the night and day have approximately equal length.
★ It is either of the days when the Sun is crossing the equator (an imaginary line around the middle of the Earth) and it is an equal distance from the North Pole and the South Pole.
★ It is the first day of the Season of Spring - and the beginning of a long period of sunlight at the Pole.
┗▶ Spring Equinox :
★ In the northern hemisphere: MARCH 20 (the Sun crosses the Equator moving northward).
★ In the southern hemisphere: SEPTEMBER 22 (the Sun crosses the Equator moving southward).
┗▶Autumn Equinox :
★ It is the first day of the Season of Autumn - and the beginning of a long period of darkness at the Pole.
★ In the northern hemisphere: SEPTEMBER 22 (the Sun crosses the Equator moving southward).
★ In the southern hemisphere: MARCH 20 (the Sun crosses the Equator moving northward).
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