Explanation:
Today the solstice occurs at 23:38
Universal Time,
the Sun reaching its southernmost
declination in planet
Earth's sky.
Of course, the
December
solstice marks
the beginning of
winter in the northern hemisphere and summer in the south.
When viewed from northern latitudes,
and as shown in the above horizontally
compressed image, the Sun will make its
lowest arc
through the sky along the southern horizon.
So in the north, the
solstice day has the shortest length of time between
sunrise and sunset and fewest hours of daylight.
This striking composite image follows the Sun's path through the December solstice day of 2005 in a beautiful blue
sky, looking down the
Tyrrhenian Sea
coast from Santa Severa toward Fiumicino, Italy.
The view covers about 115 degrees in 43 separate, well-planned
exposures from sunrise to sunset.
Browse:
Lunar eclipse images from last night
Best Astronomy Images:
APOD Editor to speak in Philadelphia on Jan 5 and New York City on Jan 7
