(from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/winter-solstice-2014-what-is-it--and-why-will-mornings-still-get-darker-9938160.html)
The Winter Solstice occurs in December in the Northern Hemisphere, and in June in the Southern Hemisphere. The date itself is not fixed: the phenomenon doesn't always occur on 21 December in the Northern Hemisphere. Sometimes it arrives in the early hours of 22 December, which will happen next year. The hour also fluctuates: last year's Solstice arrived at 17:11, whereas next year's is predicted to be at 04:38.
A solar day is rarely 24 hours exactly. The sun therefore lags behind the clock for part of the year, and speeds ahead of it for another. The length of a solar day varies because the axis of the Earth's rotation is tilted - 23.5 degrees from vertical - and because its speed fluctuates as it orbits the sun, accelerating when it is closer to the star's gravitational pull and decelerating when further away.
It takes a while for the clock and the solar days to align: evenings draw in towards their earliest sunset a couple of weeks before the shortest day, and mornings continue to get darker until a couple of weeks after.
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OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak. Please Visit http://www.ohomusic.com
My latest solo release, '2014' of original, instrumental piano music, can be downloaded digitally at:
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