Winter solstice begins today.

Before the end of 2021, we will experience the longest night and the shortest day of the year due to the winter solstice in Yucatán, which begins today, Tuesday, December 21 2021

(MÉRIDA, Yucatan – TYT) – Today is the shortest day of the year. According to the U.S. National Weather Service, winter in the northern hemisphere begins today, Tuesday, December 21, with the solstice at 2:59 pm Central Mexico time, which is the time that applies to Yucatan. According to the National Institute of Astrophysics, with the winter solstice comes the coldest time of the year. 

What is the winter solstice?
The seasons of the year are determined by the tilt of the Earth’s axis relative to its axis. Because of this, the seasons are different in the northern and southern hemispheres.

The winter solstice is when the Earth has the degree of tilt where the North Pole is up to 23.5 degrees farther away from the Sun. “At the December solstice, the Sun reaches its southernmost position in the sky, no matter where we are on Earth. In the northern hemisphere, the Sun travels its lowest and shortest path across the sky that day,” explains NASA.

Thus, “the solstice brings the shortest day of the year, in terms of daylight hours,” as well as the longest night of the year. And this means that, while for Mexico winter will begin, in the southern hemisphere of the planet, they will celebrate the beginning of summer.

According to NASA’s Space Place, the Earth’s tilt is due, as far as is known, to “something big collided with it and displaced it from the center. So instead of rotating on the right axis, it’s tilted a little bit.”

“That large object that hit the Earth is called Tea. It also caused a big hole in the surface. That strong impact put a lot of dust and debris into orbit. Most scientists think that, over time, that debris became our Moon,” they add as a curious fact.

When does winter end in Mexico?
Winter will last 88 full days plus a few hours when the spring equinox occurs. Winter ends on March 20, 2022, at 10:33 am.

The Yucatan Times
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