Today is the winter solstice, bringing the shortest day and longest night of the year to the Northern Hemisphere.

As the official start of astronomical winter, the Sun reaches its southernmost point in the sky as seen from Earth. At noon it appears directly overhead at the Tropic of Capricorn, located at a latitude of 23.5 degrees south. This position corresponds to the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, which is as far away from the sun as possible and therefore experiences the fewest hours of sunshine.