Happy Winter Solstice

Just popping in real quick to wish everybody a Happy Winter Solstice.



Brightly burns the Yule log tonight
Magic dances in firelight
Hold my hand and join the song
Raise the Sun King bright and strong
Dark is giving way to light
As brightly burns the Yule log tonight!

(Yule Chant Adapted by Akasha Ap Emrys)



WINTER SOLSTICE: [link to www.spaceweather.com]

Northern winter begins today, Dec. 21st, at precisely 1835 UT (10:35 am PST) when the sun reaches its lowest declination of the year: minus 23.5o. Get ready for a long night, e.g., 14 hours of darkness in southern California and more than 18 hours in Alaska.

The highest and lowest points in the sky reached by the sun throughout the year are called solstices, and there is a big difference between the summer solstice and its winter counterpart. In Athens, Greece, Anthony Ayiomamitis photographed the sunrise "during summer and winter solstice as well as the intervening equinox."



"[Here in Athens], the azimuth of the rising sun varies by a whopping 66 degrees from one solstice to the other," he marvels.

Meanwhile in the southern hemisphere, today marks the beginning of summer: long days, short nights, and plenty of sunshine. Seasons are opposite on the two ends of our planet. No matter where you live, Happy Solstice!


[link to www.spaceweather.com]


ttyl
hugs for everyone
Indy