The mid June solstice marks the Southern beginning of winter in
the Hemisphere and summer in the Northern Hemisphere.
In the Southern Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice takes place on
June 21, 2011 at 17:16 UTC (Universal Time).
While the beginning of summer marks the longest day of the year,
the winter solstice brings the shortest day - and the longest
night! - of the year.
The solstice is either of the two times a year when the Sun is
at its greatest distance from the celestial equator, the great
circle on the celestial sphere that is on the same plane as the
earth's equator. In the Northern Hemisphere, the winter solstice
occurs either December 21 or 22, when the sun shines directly over
the tropic of Capricorn; the summer solstice occurs either June 20
or 21, when the sun shines directly over the tropic of Cancer. In
the Southern Hemisphere, the winter and summer solstices are
reversed.
The reason for the different seasons in the two hemispheres is
that while the earth rotates around the sun, it also spins on its
axis, which is tilted some 23.5 degrees. Because of this tilt, the
Southern Hemisphere receives less direct sunlight and the Northern
Hemisphere receives more (and vice versa) depending on the
season.
The winter solstice marks the shortest day and the longest night
of the year. The sun appears at its lowest point in the sky, and
its noontime elevation appears to be the same for several days
before and after the solstice. Hence the origin of the word
solstice, which comes from Latin solstitium, from sol, "sun" and
-stitium, "a stoppage." Following the winter solstice, the days
begin to grow longer and the nights shorter.
In ancient Rome, the winter solstice was celebrated at the feast
of Saturnalia, while in pre-Christian Britain, the end of December
centered around the pagan Yule log in a fiery display to melt the
heart of a cold and dreary winter.
More info can be found at the following Web page Link to
more info about the phenomenon.
Where:
Skipping Bull Bar
&Steakhouse
207-209 Main Road
Tawa
When:
3pm onwards
This is an opportunity to meet the people behind some of the
caches/logs in the Wellington region.
As always new faces are most welcome as event caches are a great
way to meet fellow geocachers. A chance to meet and greet and shake
off the winter blues
We would love to meet all the new cachers that have started
caching this year as well as all the cachers that have recently
moved into Wellington this year.
Please post a "will attend" log if you plan to come with
approximate numbers, so we can give the Restaurant an idea of how
many people may turn up.
Free parking around Tawa and close to the Tawa railway station(3
minutes) and Buses for those who wish to use public transport.
More info can be found at the following Web page Link to
metlink. This is for those who need to plan their trip if
taking Buses or Trains.
The restaurant opens for dinner from 5pm
Keep your eye on the web page for more details.