Today is the winter solstice, occurring at 11:28 a.m. EST. Vox has some facts and figures. You probably know most of them, but there are some graphics and videos worth checking out. The latter includes a minute or so time-lapse view of sunrise and sunset in Fairbanks, Alaska, where residents will enjoy three hours and forty-one minutes of daylight.
In addition, a pinhole photo taken in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada, traces the sun’s trajectory for the six-month solstice-to-solstice period.
There is also a map showing when you can expect the latest sunrise and earliest sunset, based on your latitude.
You can also see some photos of revelers at Stonehenge and a video showing how it was probably constructed.
Also, tonight will probably not be the longest night in history. Earth’s rotation had been slowing due to tidal friction, but melting glacial ice is now slightly speeding up the rotation, shortening the days by a few fractions of a millisecond, according to Brad Plumer and Brian Resnick at Vox. The longest night thus far was probably in 1912.
Read the complete article and see the graphics and videos here.
