Diagram of the Equinoxes and Solstices from Article from The Conversation about what a Solstice is
What are the Solstices and Equinoxes?
As stated in The Cosmic Perspective by Jeffrey O. Bennett, they are terms used to define one of four specific moment in the year that mark the changing seasons—as depicted above in the diagram.
- The June Solstice, also referred as the summer solstice, occurs sometime around the 21st of June and it is when the Northern Hemisphere is tipped most directly toward the sun with increased exposure to sunlight
- The December Solstice, also referred to as the winter solstice, occurs sometime around the 21st of December and it is when the Northern Hemisphere is pointed away from the sun and receives the least amount of sunlight
- The March Equinox, also referred to as the spring equinox, occurs sometime around the 21st of March and it is when the Northern Hemisphere goes from being slightly tipped away from the Sun to being slightly tipped toward it.
- The September Equinox, also referred to as the fall equinox, occurs sometime around the 22nd of September and is when the Northern Hemisphere goes from being tipped slightly toward the sun to being slightly tipped away from it
*The info above is also derived from The Cosmic Perspective by Bennett
There is not an exact date for the solstices and equinoxes but they generally occur around the 21st of their given months. An interesting fact about the solstices and equinoxes is that the leap year is included in our modern calendar to keep the date the solstices and equinoxes around the same date.
But What’s the Difference?
While both the Equinoxes and Solstices mark the change of a season, there is one key difference: the Solstices result in longer days and shorter nights, but the Equinoxes do result in an equal amount of night and day time.
Here is an informative video further discussing the differences between the Equinoxes and Solstices:
