(WWJ) -- Winter has officially arrived, and as always, it will be a rather dark day.
On Tuesday, Dec. 21, we experience what is known as the winter solstice, or the “shortest day of the year.”
This occurs when the earth’s North Pole has tilted the farthest away from the sun, resulting in the least amount of sunlight out of any day of the year, with the longest night.
Accuweather Meteorologist Matt Benz says Dec. 21 will only see a total of nine hours and five minutes of daylight.
“As [Earth] orbits around the sun, we’ll sees the sun’s rays basically migrating north and south,” Benz explained. “Because it’s in the Southern Hemisphere, that means those nights are longer, and that’s what kicks off winter.”
This phenomenon happens twice a year -- once in the Northern Hemisphere and once in the Southern Hemisphere.
The summer solstice has the opposite effect, causing the “longest day of the year” with the shortest night, when there are 15 hours and 17 minutes of daylight.
While those counting down the days to summer have a while to go, the good news is that each day from now until then will get a bit brighter and a little longer.
The summer solstice will happen exactly six months from today, on June 21, 2022.
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