Winter Solstice 2009: What It's All About

A statue greets the 2003 winter solstice sunrise in San Juan Bautista, California. Newscom/FIle

From Christian Science Monitor:

Winter solstice 2009 falls Monday, marking the shortest day in the year for the Northern Hemisphere.

Ah, another winter solstice come and gone.

At 5:47 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time (that's 12:47 p.m. Eastern Standard Time) Monday, the Northern Hemisphere marked the mid-point of another year, as measured by the sun's highest position each day above the horizon. It marked the day with the fewest hours of sunlight this year.

Yes, this is showing a Northern Hemisphere bias. South of the equator, the day marks the most hours of sunlight of the year. So enjoy the austral summer, those of you below the equator. The rest of us? We'll be rooting for longer, warmer days.

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