Witnessing the Solstice at Stonehenge: Capture the Moment as Winter Commences
At sunrise today, around 15,000 people gathered at Stonehenge, the well-known prehistoric stone circle in Wiltshire, England, to celebrate the beginning of astronomical winter in the Northern Hemisphere.
The now 5,000-year-old monument saw its annual alignment on the solstices' day, with sunrise appearing in the northeast just above the Heel Stone this year. The event was live-streamed on YouTube by English Heritage, with the worldwide solstice moment following shortly after at 9:21 a.m. GMT (4:21 a.m. EST).
What is a solstice? The term solstice derives from Latin roots, sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), to signify the moment when the sun reaches its southernmost point directly above the Tropic of Capricorn. During this momentary pause, the sun seems to cease its movement before reversing direction.
What occurs during a solstice? On the winter solstice, the sun rises at its farthest northeast position on the horizon in the Northern Hemisphere, marking the shortest daylight hours and the coldest temperatures.
Why is Dec. 21 the winter solstice? Earth's axis tilts approximately 23.5 degrees relative to its orbit around the sun, leading to Dec. 21 being the day when the Northern Hemisphere is the most tilted away from the sun.
This year, the solstice event coincided with new research suggesting that Stonehenge may have served as a unifying landmark during prehistoric times. The new theory proposes that the monument's stones, transported from distant locations, symbolized political alliances following turmoil.
As per a study in Archaeology International, Stonehenge was more than just a temple, a calendar, or an observatory according to many archaeologists. Instead, Stonehenge could be considered political, as Mike Parker Pearson, the study's author from University College London, explained to The Guardian. "I believe we've just not been looking at Stonehenge in the right way," Parker Pearson said. "You really have to consider the whole monument to understand what they were aiming for. They constructed a monument to express the permanence of certain aspects in their world." Solstice alignments may have had a secondary purpose.
Early this year, another scientific report supplied solid proof that Stonehenge's central altar stone originally came from roughly 430 miles (700 km) away in the north of Scotland. In 2021, archaeologists determined the origin of the stone circle's smaller bluestones to be Pembrokeshire in Wales, about 180 miles (290 km) west of Stonehenge.
May your curiosity be insatiable and your nights filled with starlight.
Why do people celebrate the winter solstice at Stonehenge? The tradition dates back thousands of years, and today, around 15,000 people gather at Stonehenge to celebrate the winter solstice, marking the beginning of astronomical winter in the Northern Hemisphere. What does the solstice mean at Stonehenge? The solstice is a significant event for Stonehenge, as it aligns with the monument, with sunrise appearing in the northeast just above the Heel Stone. Why is the winter solstice at Stonehenge a special occasion? During the winter solstice, the sun rises at its farthest northeast position on the horizon, making this day the shortest daylight hours and the coldest temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere. What role did Stonehenge play during the solstice in prehistoric times? New research suggests that Stonehenge may have served as a unifying landmark during prehistoric times, and the monument's stones might have represented political alliances. What happens in the solstice at Stonehenge today? Around 15,000 people gather at Stonehenge to celebrate the winter solstice, and the event is live-streamed on YouTube for those who cannot attend in person.
