The longest night of the year awaits us tonight

Today is the longest night of the year. Its duration will be 14.5 hours.

At 17:58 (Greek time), the Sun will enter the winter solstice. This will be the longest night of the year, according to Dionysos Simopoulos, Honorary Director of the Eugenidio Planetarium.

Solstice is one of two days of the year when the sun’s height above the horizon at noon is at its minimum or maximum. There are two solstices in a year – winter and summer. On a winter day, the sun rises to its lowest height above the horizon. In the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice occurs on December 21st or 22nd, with the shortest day and longest night.

The sun, moving along the ecliptic, at this moment will reach the farthest position from the celestial equator towards the south pole. Astronomical winter will come in the northern hemisphere of the planet, and summer in the southern hemisphere. After December 21, each next daylight will be slightly longer than the previous one, and by 01.01.22 the daylight hours will increase by 7 minutes.

For thousands of years, the day of the winter solstice has been of great importance for all peoples of our planet, who have lived in harmony with natural cycles and organized their lives in accordance with them. Since ancient times, people have venerated the Sun, realizing that life on earth depends on its light and warmth. For them, the day of the winter solstice personified the victory of light over darkness. Today is the last mirror date of this year 12/21/21. …



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