Winter solstice and ‘strawberry moon’

The earliest June solstice in 228 years, this year’s southern hemisphere winter solstice is set to officially take place at 8.51pm UTC (10.51pm SA time) tonight (Thursday).

The last time the solstice arrived earlier than this was in 1796 when it occurred at 5.45pm UTC on 20 June.

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.

Strawberry moon

One day after the southern hemisphere winter solstice, on 21 June, this month’s full moon, or the strawberry moon, will be visible in the night sky.

According to Nasa, the moon will appear full for three days, from today (Thursday) evening to 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 21 July.

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