Dec. 18 () –
In meteorology, Earth’s present winter season for the northern hemisphere and summer season for the southern hemisphere They started on December 1st.
However, the December solstice brings the astronomical seasons of winter and summer, respectively, for the two hemispheres of our planet. This is scheduled for December 21 at 09:21 UTC time.
According to calculations of the National Astronomical Observatory (OAN), This season will last approximately 88 days and 23 hours, ending on March 20, 2025 with the beginning of spring.
The beginning of winter in the northern hemisphere is defined by the instant in which the Earth passes through the point in its orbit from which the Sun presents its maximum southern declination. On the day this happens, the Sun reaches its lowest elevation above the horizon at noon and describes the shortest arc in the sky. As a result, that is the day with the fewest hours of sunshine of the year. Furthermore, for several days the maximum height of the Sun at noon appears not to change, and because of this, the beginning of winter is also called the winter solstice (from the Latin solstitium, Still Sun).
The beginning of winter in the northern hemisphere coincides with the beginning of summer in the southern hemisphere.
On January 4, 2025, the moment of maximum annual approach between the Earth and the Sun will occur. called perihelion. At that moment, our distance from the Sun will be just over 147 million km, that is, about 5 million km less than at the moment of greatest distance (aphelion), which will occur on July 3, 2025.
LUNAR ECLIPSE
During the winter of 2024-2025 There will be a total lunar eclipse. It will be March 14 and will be seen from America, western Africa and Europe, and eastern Asia and Oceania. From Spain it will be visible, although not complete, since the Moon will set before the end of all phases of totality.
Lasting just under 89 days, winter in the northern hemisphere is the shortest season of the year.. This is because the Earth’s orbit around the Sun is not circular but elliptical and winter coincides with the time of year when the Earth is closest to the Sun. When this happens, the Earth moves faster in its orbit (according to what is known as Kepler’s second law), and therefore needs less time to reach the point where the next season begins, which is spring.
The beginning of winter can occur, at most, on four different dates on the calendar (December 20 to 23). Throughout the 21st century, winter will begin on December 20 to 22 (official Spanish date), with its earliest onset being in 2096 and its latest onset being in 2003. The variations from one year to the next are due to the way in which the sequence of years according to the calendar (some leap years, others not) fits with the duration of each orbit of the Earth around the Sun.
Although the day of the winter solstice corresponds to the day with the fewest hours of sunshine, The time difference between day and night depends on the latitude of the place. For the latitude of Madrid, the day of the winter solstice will have 9 hours and 17 minutes of sunshine, to compare with the 15 hours and 3 minutes of sunshine that the longest day (summer solstice) had. The difference between the shortest and longest day is therefore almost six hours of sunshine. As we approach the equator, this difference decreases, while at the Earth’s poles the difference is maximum.
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