Today is the shortest day in the northern hemisphere, the official start of Winter. But don’t worry. Spring comes faster than any other season.
Because the Earth doesn’t move at a constant speed in its elliptical orbit, the seasons are different lengths. From a warmth perspective, the northern hemisphere is lucky. Our winter is the shortest season.
- Winter, December-to-March: 89.0 days from winter solstice to vernal equinox
- Spring, March-to-June: 92.8 days from vernal equinox to northern summer solstice
- Summer, June-to-September: 93.6 days from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox
- Autumn, September-to-December: 89.8 days from the autumnal equinox to the winter solstice
So after the sun stands still at 4:28pm UTC (Universal Time) — 11:28am in Pittsburgh — it’ll start its journey northward.
Spring will be here soon.
p.s. Groundhog Day is halfway between the winter solstice and vernal equinox. It’s something to look forward to.
(photo by Paul Aniszewski from Shutterstock)
Imbolc is the ancient Holiday that occurs about the same time as Groundhog’s Day, generally Feb. 1. Interesting that long ago people marked the halfway point between solstice and equinox.