What is the shortest night of the year and why does it happen?

During the year you can see several natural phenomena which are common to all, regardless of country. Some of them are the equinoxes AND solsticesspecific moments of the calendar that mark the changes of the season.

First, the equinoxes represent the moment when the Sun reaches the plane of the equator; this means that both the equator and the parallel of declination of the Sun coincide. This happens only twice a year: the first can be between the 19th and 21st of Marchwhile the second between 21 and 24 September.

The solstices, on the other hand, are the moments of the year when the Sun reaches both its maximum and minimum points proximity with the northern and southern hemispheres. There are also two a year: the first between the 20th and 21st of June and the second between 8 and 10 pm December.

What is the shortest night of the year?

A central point of the solstices and equinoxes are the seasonal changes. The December solstice represents the arrival of summer for the southern hemisphere, as well as that of the winter for the northern hemisphere. That’s why in the south of the planet that day will be the shorter night of the year and for the north the longer.

In this way, the countries of the southern hemisphere will have the longest day of the year at the December solstice, while those in the north will have the shortest. On the other hand, the June solstice marks the beginning of winter for the southern hemisphere and summer for the north.

What do the equinoxes represent?

In the case of the equinoxes, the central point – in addition to the seasonal changes in spring or autumn, depending on the hemisphere – is that the days and nights they last more or less the sameall over the planet.

Also, this is when the Sun reaches the zeniththis is the highest point in the sky relative to the observer (90°).