December solstice


December solstice

[di′sem·bər ′säl·stəs] (astronomy) Winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere.

December solstice

December solsticei. That point on the ecliptic occupied by the sun at the maximum southerly declination. Also called the first point of Capricornus.
ii. That instant at which the sun reaches the point of maximum southerly declination, on or about December 23. A solstice that occurs when the position of the earth is at the perihelion, or when it is nearest to the sun, but its north pole is inclined away from the sun. It occurs on or about December 23, when there is winter in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern Hemisphere. See (i).