OT: Solstice

[Jason Stephenson]

Tom Buskey wrote:
> On 12/15/06, Bayard Coolidge <n1ho at yahoo.com> wrote:
>> I haven't got a clue as to what Solstice is, but Bill Sconce's response
> 
> When the earth is furthest/nearest the sun.  Winter solstice is Dec
> 21st.  Summer is June 21st.
> 

It's actually the other way 'round. The earth is closer to the sun on 
the winter solstice. The reason that the weather is colder and the days 
are shorter in the Northern Hemisphere is because of the tilt in the 
Earth's axis. We're tilted away from the Sun in the winter and toward it 
in the summer.

The Winter Solstice is the shortest day* of the year in most of the 
Northern Hemishpere. The Summer Solstice is the longest.

*Day defined as hours of daylight.

Cheers,
Jason