When is the Winter Solstice 2017? When is the shortest day of the year?
THE winter solstice is the shortest day of the year and marks the start of the winter season, according to the astronomical calendar.
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This year the day falls on Thursday December 21, however every year it is different and can fall on any day between December 20 and December 23.
The start of the season of winter, according to the astronomical calendar, is three weeks later than the meteorological calendar, which officially started on Friday December 1.
It is also the shortest day of the year as the tilt of the Earth's axis is least aligned with the sun, meaning we get the least daylight of the year.
The winter solstice marks the point when the sun is exactly overhead the Tropic of Capricorn.
The world celebrates the winter solstice
Tue, December 22, 2015People all over the world celebrate the shortest day of the year known as the winter solstice.
Reveller Jacqueline Fernandez looks on in the rain during the 26th Annual Kensington Market Winter Solstice Parade in Toronto
The sun is due to set in the UK at around 3.54pm on the evening of the winter solstice, however the exact time will depend on your location.
After the winter solstice, days will start to get longer and we will have more hours of daylight.
The winter solstice is almost nine hours shorter than the longest day of the year.
Every year, people head to Stonehenge in Wiltshire to mark the astronomical phenomenon to witness the sunrise above the stones.
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The sunrise on the day will be 8.04am.
In the Southern Hemisphere the summer solstice and the longest day of the year will be celebrated instead.
NASA has said: "Although the winter solstice marks the shortest daylight period in the Northern Hemisphere, it's not the day of the latest sunrise or earliest sunset.
"Most places in the mid-latitudes see their earliest sunset two weeks before the solstice, while the latest sunrise is not until early January."
