Winter Solstice

It is the Winter Solstice here in the southern hemisphere tomorrow. As if to mark the occasion we had our coldest morning of the year in Melbourne. The thermometer had dropped to a chilly 4.1 degrees at 8am this morning. Whilst this would be of no particular consequence for many who live closer to the poles, for us this is “character building” weather. On the plus side, the hours of daylight will now steadily increase over the coming months. This, at least in theory, will provide a greater opportunity for our building works to be undertaken.

The Solstice phenomenon occurs because the Earth's axis of rotation is not perpendicular to its orbital plane but currently makes an angle of about 23.44°. As a consequence, for half the year the Northern Hemisphere is inclined toward the Sun while for the other half year it is the Southern Hemisphere that is better positioned. The times during the year when the inclination of Earth's rotational axis has maximum effect are the two solstices.