Celebrating the Winter Solstice

[brianr]

Actually last June 21 I was in New York , having had dinner with Chuck and Cindy the night before 
So I have had 2 summer solstices this year.
Next June 21 I should be in Dunedin but I will be in Vienna until June 9.
Sorry to gloat 

[Jeff Wrangler]

I probably asked this before, but do you think of the solstice as marking the beginning of winter, or midwinter?

Tell you what, when I googled "midwinter day," what came up at the top of the list was the Wikipedia article on the winter solstice.

I thought I remembered reading that Imbolc was more or less halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox--which strikes me as more "midwinter"--and apparently in this instance my memory was correct:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imbolc

But then this article also describes Imbolc as a festival celebrating the beginning of spring (!), so go figure. 

[CellarDweller]

Solstice is coming up soon!

[CellarDweller]

Saturnalia was an ancient Roman festival in honor of the deity Saturn, held on the 17th of December of the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities through to the 23rd of December.  The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn, in the Roman Forum, and a public banquet, followed by private gift-giving, continual partying, and a carnival atmosphere that overturned Roman social norms: gambling was permitted, and masters provided table service for their slaves.  The poet Catullus called it "the best of days."

In Roman mythology, Saturn was an agricultural deity who was said to have reigned over the world in the Golden Age, when humans enjoyed the spontaneous bounty of the earth without labor in a state of social egalitarianism. The revelries of Saturnalia were supposed to reflect the conditions of the lost mythical age, not all of them desirable.

[Front-Ranger]

Happy Solstice! There was a thin hopeful light when I arose at 7 am this morning! And I'm looking forward to the rich dark night to celebrate the Solstice with a roaring fire...in the fireplace of my new home!

[CellarDweller]

[Aloysius J. Gleek]

The winter solstice began at 6:03 p.m. ET today--

It will get only get better (light-wise) after this--

Weather-wise, well--probably not!  

[Aloysius J. Gleek]

http://knowmore.washingtonpost.com/2014/12/19/this-amazing-photograph-shows-the-suns-hairpin-turn-at-the-winter-solstice/


This amazing photograph
shows the sun’s hairpin turn
at the winter solstice
By Ana Swanson, December 19 at 10:43 am The Washington Post





The winter solstice, the longest night of the year in the Earth’s northern hemisphere, will take place on Sunday night, Dec. 21. At that point, the sun will have reached its lowest point in the sky and will rapidly “reverse” direction – as shown in the photographic composite above.

The image above shows an analemma, a graceful figure-8 curve that results from marking the position of the sun at the same time each day throughout the Earth’s year. In the image above, photographer Thomas G. Matheson superimposed 26 separate exposures, all taken at 8 am in the morning in northern New Jersey, on a single foreground image.

The sun was not moving, of course: The figure-eight curve of the analemma results from the tilt of Earth’s axis and the variation in its speed as it moves around its orbit. The summer and winter solstices correspond to the top and bottom of the figure-8, respectively, the northern and southernmost excursions of the sun in the sky. Analemmas created from different latitudes appear slightly differently, as do those created at different times of the day. Those in the southern hemisphere see the figure reversed, with the larger loop facing “upwards.” From the Earth’s poles, only half of the loop is visible.

Analemmas can be created with other heavenly bodies as well. A lunar analemma captures the view of the Moon from Earth over the course of a lunar month, while a Martian analemma captures the view of the sun from Mars. Mars’ analemma is shaped like a pear rather than a figure-8, because Mars has a more elliptical orbit. The pointy side of the pear occurs when Mars is farther from the sun, and the sun progresses slowly in the sky. The rounded bottom occurs when the sun is closer and appears to be moving more quickly.

Photograph reproduced courtesy of Thomas G. Matheson, www.guidescope.net. All rights reserved.

[Jeff Wrangler]

http://knowmore.washingtonpost.com/2014/12/19/this-amazing-photograph-shows-the-suns-hairpin-turn-at-the-winter-solstice/


This amazing photograph
shows the sun’s hairpin turn
at the winter solstice
By Ana Swanson, December 19 at 10:43 am The Washington Post





The winter solstice, the longest night of the year in the Earth’s northern hemisphere, will take place on Sunday night, Dec. 21. At that point, the sun will have reached its lowest point in the sky and will rapidly “reverse” direction – as shown in the photographic composite above.

The image above shows an analemma, a graceful figure-8 curve that results from marking the position of the sun at the same time each day throughout the Earth’s year. In the image above, photographer Thomas G. Matheson superimposed 26 separate exposures, all taken at 8 am in the morning in northern New Jersey, on a single foreground image.

The sun was not moving, of course: The figure-eight curve of the analemma results from the tilt of Earth’s axis and the variation in its speed as it moves around its orbit. The summer and winter solstices correspond to the top and bottom of the figure-8, respectively, the northern and southernmost excursions of the sun in the sky. Analemmas created from different latitudes appear slightly differently, as do those created at different times of the day. Those in the southern hemisphere see the figure reversed, with the larger loop facing “upwards.” From the Earth’s poles, only half of the loop is visible.

Analemmas can be created with other heavenly bodies as well. A lunar analemma captures the view of the Moon from Earth over the course of a lunar month, while a Martian analemma captures the view of the sun from Mars. Mars’ analemma is shaped like a pear rather than a figure-8, because Mars has a more elliptical orbit. The pointy side of the pear occurs when Mars is farther from the sun, and the sun progresses slowly in the sky. The rounded bottom occurs when the sun is closer and appears to be moving more quickly.

Photograph reproduced courtesy of Thomas G. Matheson, www.guidescope.net. All rights reserved.

That is so cool!

And where you been, Aloysius J. Gleek?

[Penthesilea]

This amazing photograph
shows the sun’s hairpin turn
at the winter solstice
By Ana Swanson, December 19 at 10:43 am The Washington Post

Way cool indeed! Thanks for sharing.


We had guests all day yesterday, so I only had a quick thought about longerdays. Now I'm officially happy today will be longer than yesterday.
Happy Longerdays y'all!