The Winter Solstice is the time of year when the Sun's height above the horizon at local noon is least of all the days in the year.

In the Northern Hemisphere this is usually on December 21st, but can (rarely) be on December 20th. On this day the Sun is directly overhead at midday on the Tropic of Cancer. This is 23.5 degrees South of the Equator, because the Earth's axis of rotation is tilted at 23.5 degrees from the plane of its orbit.

See also Summer Solstice.

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