Happy Solstice!

If I timed this right, this post will go live the minute the Earth is calculated to be at the winter solstice point.

It feels crazy to have to specify this, but it's 2025 and the internet has revealed how many people seem to not believe basic science. The solstice happens because the Earth is a spheroid planet in an elliptical orbit with an axial tilt of about 23° off from vertical in relation to that orbital plane. At the winter solstice, that tilt away from the sun at that point during our annual orbit results in the longest night in the northern hemisphere and the longest day in the southern hemisphere.

Winters are cold because we get fewer daylight hours, and what daylight we see is spread across a larger surface area due to the actual tilt and the speroid shape of the planet combining to spread that solar energy too thin. This is in spite of the fact that during the December solstice, the Earth is slightly closer to the sun in its not-quite-circular orbit.

The image above is from the Encyclopedia Britanica article about the winter solstice. If you prefer a less formal site, check out the Old Farmer's Almanac instead. No matter how hard the flat earthers try to misunderstand reality, that's how it works. This has been known, calculated, and verified by careful observations over and over for centuries even before space travel.

Since I live within 100 miles of the US/Canada border, this is the official start of winter and the slow beginning of longer daylight time. I am very glad to see the cycle shift because the cold and dark are miserable. No matter how slow it begins, I eagerly await the sun climbing higher above the horizon each day for the next few months from my vantage point here near Spokane, Washington.

So happy Solstice, everyone. Have your celebratory beverage of choice, or dance around a bonfire, or do whatever else seems most suitable to celebrate the occasion. Share pics in the comments, unless they're NSFW. I know a few folks who get a bit wild at their solstice bonfires. Comment while sober, and make sure you are clothed in any selfies, please.