BellaOnline Forums Education Astronomy Season's Greetings - Winter Stories

.
If you're dreaming of a white Christmas, the cosmos may have something of interest. How about skiing on one of Saturn's moons or a snowman on an asteroid. And for decoration, a gigantic Christmas tree whose lights are baby stars and maybe an Einstein ring for decoration?

Christmas in the Skies
.

.
The astronomical start of winter in the northern hemisphere is coming up on the 21st. For six months, each day has been shorter than the last, and the Sun lower in the sky. Will it disappear altogether and leave the people bereft in the dark cold winter? Nope. The Sun is at its lowest at the solstice and soon reverses its course to begin its rise again. The solstice is associated with more festivals than any other astronomical event.

Winter Solstice
.

.
For many people Christmas is a special day with a magic of its own. A Christmas eclipse is a great treat and centuries ago a long-awaited comet finally showed up on Christmas day. But imagine spending the holidays a quarter of a million miles from home, as the crew of Apollo 8 did.

Cosmic White Christmas
.

WOW, the starry winter night over Yosemite is beautiful.

.
Welcome to the Galactic Winter Games, a starry tribute to Earth's Winter Olympic Games. It's a tour of some really cool cosmic sights – as well as some hot ones, such as the remnant of one of the biggest explosions in the Universe. Some of the medalists in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia got an extra medal - these medals had meteorite fragments incorporated into them. The fragments were of the small asteroid that had exploded over the city of Chelyabinsk exactly one year before.

Galactic Winter Games

For six months, each day has been shorter than the last, the Sun lower in the sky. Will it disappear altogether and leave the people bereft in the dark cold winter? The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year and is associated with more festivals than any other astronomical event.

Winter Solstice

On December 21st 2022, the winter solstice occurred at 21:47 UCT (Coordinated Universal Time = Greenwich Mean Time). That's 9:47 PM if you don't use a 24-four clock.

The Star of Bethlehem is a lovely symbol of Christmas. Was it based on an actual astronomical happening? Or perhaps an inspired idea to emphasize the spiritual importance of the story?

What Was the Star of Bethlehem?

Raymond Arroyo wrote a lovely Christmas story this year, "The Wise Men Who Found Christmas." It is a children's story but he explains the star as being the light that shone from the child into the heavens.

.
Imagine midnight on December 31 – fireworks, friendship and celebration greet a new year. But only if you follow the Gregorian calendar. In the past, a year often didn't start on January 1, and for nearly two billion people it still doesn't. So when does a new year begin?

When Does the New Year Begin
.