The earliest June solstice in 228 years, this year’s southern hemisphere winter solstice, is set to officially take place at 22:51 tonight.

The last time the solstice arrived earlier than this was in 1796 when it occurred at 17:45 UTC on June 20.

Contrary to popular belief, a solstice is not an entire day, but rather the precise moment when the sun reaches its northernmost point – the Tropic of Cancer – 23.5 degrees north of the Celestial Equator.

At this point, the southern hemisphere is most tilted away from the sun by the maximum angle of 23.5 degrees, while the northern hemisphere is most tilted towards the sun by the same margin.

The solstice marks the shortest day and longest night in the southern hemisphere, and the longest day and shortest night in the northern hemisphere.

After this solstice, the sun begins moving southward in the sky.

Polokwane Review provides more fun facts on the winter solstice:

• Days before and after the winter solstice occurs, the sun appears to stand still in the sky at its noon-time elevation.
• Solstices have been used throughout history to time many important events each year, including the sowing of seeds for crops, mating of animals, harvesting of crops, and monitoring the reserves of winter food.
• During the winter solstice the sun appears to be at its lowest point in the sky.
• Following the winter solstice the days begin to become longer while the nights begin to shorten.
• Although winter solstice marks the beginning of the astrological winter, the coldest winter days are yet to come, often not for a month or even two in some years.
• During the solstice, whether it is summer or winter solstice, the sun isn’t moving – it’s actually the earth tilting to and away from the sun.

‘Strawberry moon’

One day after the southern hemisphere winter solstice, this month’s full moon, or the ‘strawberry moon’, will be visible in the night sky.

According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the moon will appear full for three days – from this evening until Sunday morning.

The ‘strawberry moon’ gets its name from the Native American Algonquian tribes who used the name to mark the full moon to the harvesting of wild strawberries.

The next full moon, the ‘buck moon’, will be on July 21.

Pretoria Rekord reports that despite its name, the moon will look like an ordinary full moon, but that it might cast a reddish hue when it begins its ascent in the northern regions of Europe.

It is more likely to happen when the moon appears lower in the sky, as the sun’s rays bounce off the earth.

This will be Saturday from Greenland and Cape Verde time eastward across Eurasia, Africa, and Australia to the International Date Line in the mid-Pacific.

Coastal safety concerns

Knysna-Plett Herald reports the National Sea Rescue Institute and emergency services are appealing to bathers, boaters, paddlers, sailors, shoreline anglers, and coastal hikers to exercise caution around the coastline as the full moon spring tide causes the daily high tides to be higher than normal and the daily low tides to be lower than normal.

This spring tide peaks on Saturday.

“The effect of the spring tide on the coast, caused by the gravitational pull of the moon on the earth – resulting in higher-than-normal high tides and lower-than-normal low tides – will already be noticeable around the coastline, increasing in intensity towards the full moon peak on Saturday, and then gradually declining in intensity towards the middle of next week.”

Spring tides pose a potential hazard to bathers around the coastline, especially during the outgoing tide.

With school vacations now in full swing, they are appealing to coastal water users to be cautious during this full moon spring tide phase and to be aware of the impact it has around the coast.