Bring On The Night: Winter Solstice

The sun will reach the southernmost point in the sky at 1:08 a.m. Saturday, marking the winter solstice and the start of winter, explain astronomers at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute. At this moment the Sun in its apparent path around the sky will stand directly over the Tropic of Capricorn. For an observer at that latitude, the sun will appear directly overhead at noon. However, from Western North Carolina, the noontime sun will appear only about 31½ degrees above the southern horizon, its lowest point of the year. The sun also rises at its most southern point along the southeastern horizon and sets at its most southern point on the southwestern horizon.

Private parties generally gather to celebrate the solstice, and those willing to brave the weather can watch the sun rise and set through the sun tunnels in the northwest town of Lucin, Utah.

An attempt to use modern technology to share an ancient Irish tradition with the world failed this morning in Newgrange, Co Meath.

While the stream for this morning's Winter Solstice illumination of the passage and chamber at Newgrange was working, Heritage Ireland's web servers was unable to handle the heavy traffic during the 8am hour.