Periodically throughout the year terms like equinoctial point and solstice get banded around , with some people even go so far as to fete the summertime solstice , or wish you a happy solstice in much the same way as other more well - known celebration . But what actually is a solstice and an equinox and how are they dissimilar from each other ?
Let’s start with the equinox
The equinoctial point occur in March and September and are the times when the Sun is precisely above the equator at noonday . In the Northern Hemisphere , this signals the start of spring in March , and in the Southern Hemisphere , it marks the root of fall or autumn .
The March equinox is often called the youthful equinoctial point or the bound equinox . The terminal figure “ equinox ” comes from the Romance Word " aequus " ( equal ) and " Night " ( dark ) , mean equal night . As the Earth ’s axis is tilted and our orientation towards the Sun change throughout the year , there comes a point when the day length are roughly adequate because the Sun is on the celestial equator . This gives rough 12 hours of both day and night depending on your length from the equator .
Because these equinox are mensurable galactic event that pass off each yr they can be predicted down to the minute . So in 2024 , agree toNASA , the March equinoctial point will occur at 11:06 pm EDT on March 19 , or 03:06 UTC on March 20 .
The solstices and equinoxes follow on from each other throughout the year, all down to the position of the Earth’s axis in relation to the Sun.Image credit: IFLScience
Moving on to the solstice
The solstice occurs twice a twelvemonth : the wintertime solstice and the summertime solstice . harmonise to theMet Office , the latter occur around June 21 in the Northern Hemisphere while the winter solstice happens around December 21 .
At the summer solstice , the Sun reaches its highest dot of the year while at the winter solstice , it make its lowest all class . This is the time in the year when the Sun ’s itinerary is the furthest north or to the south from the equator , writesBritannica , when the major planet ’s magnetic pole are either extremely inclined towards or away from the Sun .
The angle of Earth on its axis , which is roughly 23.5 degree , plays an important role in the solstices . During the summertime solstice , the Northern Hemisphere is tilt towards the Sun give increased hour of sunlight in some places , such as the Arctic Circe , which can have a full 24 hours of sunshine . This lead to the musical theme of the wintertime solstice being the inadequate 24-hour interval of the year and the summer solstice being the longest day of the year .
Solstices can also be defined by solar declination , which is the latitude of Earth where the Sun is directly overhead at noon . The solar declination refers to the slant between the Sun ’s rays and the equatorial carpenter’s plane . At the summer solstice , the solar declination is about 23.5 ° N at the Tropic of Cancer , and in December , solar declination is about 23.5 ° S at the Tropic of Capricorn , explainsNational Geographic .
