Winter is officially coming to the Northern Hemisphere — and, with it, the longest night of the year. This year, that also means a special skywatching opportunity is at hand, with Jupiter shining brightly next to a nearly-full moon.
The winter solstice, which will occur at 10:28 p.m. EST on Thursday, Dec. 21, is a special day for our planet. Earth orbits the sun every 365 days while spinning on an axis tilted by 23.5 degrees. Its northern axis is tipped away from the sun on the winter solstice, resulting in the day with the fewest hours of daylight, and thus the longest night, all year in the Northern Hemisphere.
