21 December 2024
Happy Winter Solstice! The days will be getting longer soon.
Most of us were asleep when the winter solstice occurred in Pittsburgh at 4:21 AM EST. We could not see it, even if we’d been awake, because today’s sunrise is at 7:39am EST. On this the shortest day we’ll have 9 hours, 16 minutes and 59 seconds of daylight.
In Britain, Stonehenge is aligned to mark the summer solstice at sunrise and the winter solstice at sunset. Nonetheless, Stonehenge holds their winter solstice celebration at sunrise every year. Here’s a video of last year’s celebrations.
Winter Solstice at Stonehenge in 2023
BBC News describes this year’s event: Winter solstice celebrated at Stonehenge
Stonehenge is an even bigger feat of prehistoric engineering than we’d originally thought. In 2021 scientists learned that its igneous bluestones were imported from southwest Wales. This year a Welsh scientist discovered that its giant, partially buried, 6 ton altar stone came from Scotland! A truly cosmopolitan monument.
No wonder people celebrate there.