Winter solstice 2023 is here, bringing the longest night of the year to Northern Hemisphere

The night sky glows pink and orange above a house in a show-covered field.

Winter in the Northern Hemisphere will officially arrive tonight with the rays of the sun shining directly down on the Tropic of Capricorn — latitude 23.43-degrees south — at 10:27 p.m. Eastern Time. At that moment, if you were located in Western Australia at a point near Lake MacKay, the sun will be shining directly overhead and its six-month southward migration will come to an end, marking the beginning of summer for the Southern Hemisphere. 

Indeed, the word "solstice" is derived from sol, the Latin word for "sun." The ancients added sol to sistere, which means "to stand still" and came up with solstitium. Middle English speakers shortened solstitium to solstice in the 14th century. The effect is an artifact brought about by the change of the seasons, which can be readily explained today by astronomers.