Winter begins with your Snow Shoes

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber & Photo Wayne G. Barber Library

 

For some of us in New England, winter is a time to bundle up, stay inside by the fire or head for warmer climates. But it’s really a wonderful time to get outdoors for daytime adventures like Ice Fishing, looking for fresh tracks, cross country sking or snow shoeing and nighttime stargazing.
Winter actually starts 5:02 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Monday. Welcome to the Winter Solstice when throughout the Northern Hemisphere we experience the shortest amount of sunlight and the longest darkness of the year. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is the Summer Solstice and the longest day.

The word solstice comes from the Latin words for “sun” and “to stand still.” Winter Solstice is when the Earth’s axial tilt is farthest away from the sun and the sun’s daily position in the sky is the lowest. From here on out the days will get longer and the sun higher in the sky. The slow countdown to spring has begun.

This solstice is extraordinarily special. For the first time in 400 years it coincides with what astronomers call the Great Conjunction, when Jupiter and Saturn get as close as possible in our night sky. The Great Conjunction happens every 20 years, but Monday’s Great Conjunction is even greater than most. Not only is it on the solstice — a special event in its own right — but these two planets have not been this close in almost 400 years. Even in 1623, the year these giant planets last got this close, most people could not see the conjunction. It was actually last visible in 1226. Here’s hoping for a clear night. You’ll want to turn off Christmas lights and revel in our wonderful night sky for at least a few minutes – you will not see a Great Conjunction this close again until 2080, and that one won’t be on the Winter Solstice.  Be safe out there in the New England playground. Source; Bill Reid The Bulletin