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Merry Midwinter Solstice

And the winter fulcrum tilts slightly springward - longer days ahead and in just a couple of weeks' time I'll be planting the first seeds of 2019. For me at least, the worst is over! I don't take kindly to October-December, the only things that make it bearable are the Hindu & Christian festivals we celebrate at our house. When the snowdrops bloom then I begin to feel better.
 
There are reminders of it early in this thread but those of us who look forward to lengthening days tend to focus on the sunsets, which have passed their earliest before "the shortest day."

"Though the shortest day is on or close to 21 December, the earliest sunset is around 10 December and the latest sunrise does not occur until 2 January, so at Christmas the mornings are still getting darker whilst the evenings are getting appreciably lighter . . . "

From a BBC article here.:sherlock:
 
Was there a chariot park at Stonehenge in days of yore?

Thousands of people have celebrated the winter solstice sunrise at Stonehenge.

They arrived in the early hours but had to wait until after 07:15 GMT for access to the stones. Some were turned away because the car parks were full. Senior Druid, King Arthur Pendragon said problems with parking had "totally ruined it" for some people. English Heritage said there were two car parks and a park and ride so there were "plenty of ways" to get there.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-wiltshire-46658823
 
ramonmercado said:
Was there a chariot park at Stonehenge in days of yore?

Thousands of people have celebrated the winter solstice sunrise at Stonehenge.

They arrived in the early hours but had to wait until after 07:15 GMT for access to the stones. Some were turned away because the car parks were full. Senior Druid, King Arthur Pendragon said problems with parking had "totally ruined it" for some people. English Heritage said there were two car parks and a park and ride so there were "plenty of ways" to get there.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-wiltshire-46658823
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I'm reading "Wah wah my made up spiritual event was spoiled because I can't park my non-spiritual anachronistic transport. I want my cake and to eat it. Wah."
 
A story I heard concerned Wiltshire Council's decision to close a road running past Stonehenge (A344?) and call in the Police to enforce it. English Heritage wanted to close the road to "restore the dignity" of the World Heritage Site, everyone else assumed they didn't want anyone getting a good look of the Stones for free. Apparently caught up in the ensuing chaos and gridlock on the A303 was MP Clare Short and she demanded to know from the Traffic Police by what laws had the road been closed. A young copper leaned in the car, 'Listen Love, we make the laws'.
Possibly not the wisest thing to say to the Secretary of International Development.
 
This years arrangements at Newgrange.

The Office of Public Works (OPW), in partnership with the National Monuments Services (NMS) of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, is delighted to announce that it will once again live-stream the Winter Solstice Sunrise from within the chamber at the Neolithic passage tomb of Newgrange. This phenomenal event can be viewed live each morning from the 20th to 22nd December on gov.ie/opw and heritageireland.ie

This December, NMS and the OPW re-commenced their archaeological research programme to obtain further information on this phenomenon. The research project is measuring and monitoring in great detail the movement of the winter sunlight coming through the roof box into the passage and chamber to determine how the beam of dawn light interplays with the chamber as we move towards Solstice and then past it.

The solar alignment of the passage tomb at Newgrange to face the rising sun on winter solstice is a significant astronomical finding of global importance. Originally re-discovered by Professor Michael J. O'Kelly in 1967, other researchers have, since then validated O'Kelly's interpretation, giving it scientific credibility and meaning. Analysis of high-resolution imagery taken during last year’s research programme adds to the convincing body of evidence that the solar illumination of the tomb was intentional.

Members of the public are advised not to travel directly to the site, as there will be road closures in place around Newgrange itself. Visitors may enter through the Visitor Centre prior to travelling to the Monument. However, in adherence with the Government Guidelines, we must remind visitors that the wearing of face coverings within the Centre and on the buses is obligatory. We appreciate the co-operation of the public.

Happy Solstice!

For further information please contact [email protected]

https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release...ve-streaming-of-winter-solstice-at-newgrange/
 
This year, the 'slingshot' happens at 15.59hrs GMT/UTC on 21 Dec.....in just short of 48hrs time.

This time I may try to get through it by sitting-down, and holding onto the windowsill (I'm not getting any younger, you know....in fact, I'm nearly six-months older than when the last one happened).

At least us nordvolk don't run the risk of being spun out of our beds, unlike our Australasian cousins...

Ermintruder said:
(said back in 2016....) "Just six hours to go. We'll all have to hold-on tight, from about 10.43 to 10.45hrs GMT (for us northerners, anyway).

I usually stand, to reduce the feeling of nausea during the backswing.

So saying, most of the good seats will have been taken already.

I usually don't bother trying to balance a pencil/egg/budget and all that stuff during the good old 'Stice' itself, I tend to leave that nowadays to the young thrillseekers that run with the bulls / have Amazon Prime / wear Superdry.

You never think you'll get too old for these massive social bonding events, but sometimes the best place to be is just inside, with yourself, and a good strong wall to hold on to....

Anyway, all the best for when it comes.

And not too much vodka and popcorn before lunch (unless that's all part of your church, to which I say namaste....)"
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Ermintruder said:
But I've a vague recollection that, somewhere, certain paleoastronomical markers were now wrong, over the aggregated passage of time. Though that's maybe the star ecliptic, with a different asolar almanac adherence.

At this point my head has fallen off.

So what's the answer? Is Stonehenge etc now behind the times, heliometrically? Or not?
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I'm not any further forward in my muddled misconceptioning of this cosmological conundrum.....

Is the passage of metasidereal/terrestrial time so relatively-infinitesimal (since Stonehenge & Newtongrange were first calendrically-calibrated via blood, sweat & brains) that their alignment remains correct to this day? Or should they really all be re-aligned?

nb I'm not volunteering, I'm cogitating
 
Aren't you assuming Stonehenge was a calendar in the first place? Isn't that conjecture? It could have been a pre-Roman bus depot, for all we know.
 
Ermintruder said:
I'm not any further forward in my muddled misconceptioning of this cosmological conundrum.....
Is the passage of metasidereal/terrestrial time so relatively-infinitesimal (since Stonehenge & Newtongrange were first calendrically-calibrated via blood, sweat & brains) that their alignment remains correct to this day? Or should they really all be re-aligned?
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The first problem is figuring out what alignments were intentionally embodied in the site's construction during its history.

It's difficult to ascertain which alignment(s) were intrinsic by design and which are incidental / derivative. It's also unclear which alignments were reflected from the site's beginning versus being added (if only accidentally) during the multiple phases of expanding construction and renovations.

Another factor concerns how the key events were marked or recognized using the site's features. For example, there's still debate about whether the currently erect Heel Stone was the sole solstice marker versus being one of two stones between which the rising sun was supposed to be positioned.

The site was dynamic and evolving in its construction, and our understanding of its implications is similarly subject to changes. New things have been learned about the overall (and extended) site up to the present day. The degree to which Stonehenge was remodeled and reconfigured is not often acknowledged, and its evaluation remains subject to ongoing refinement.

I think the obvious NE / SW solstice alignment axis is old (if not original), but some of the other alignments claimed for the site were either installed later or may represent incidental correlations with whatever the intended alignments may have been.
 
The alignments at Stonehenge are a bit too imprecise to show a difference over a few thousand years. As a calendar it is only vaguely reliable, despite the mythologising by modern writers.

Even the alignment at Maes Howe is very imprecise - the sun shines down the passageway for two whole months at midwinter, so it works nearly as well nowadays as it did when it was built.

This is not, however, true of Newgrange; the alignment on midwinter's day was significantly more precise 5000 years ago than it is today, so it looks as if the builders took great care to get the alignment right.
http://www.planetquest.org/learn/newgrange.html
 
Tempest63 said:
Winter Solstice tomorrow after which the days will start to get longer.
Hurrah!
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:cheer:. By February you start to see some daylight around 0700. Then the friggin idiots in government who won't rescind DST make it pitch black again a month later. I hate the time changes. Our regular time is only for 4 months (November-March). I know that is 5 months, but your body takes time each time to regulate to the time. So, jet lag each time change.
 
And a very Merry Solstice to you all!

Get your vests off and have a jump around a bonfire - you'll feel the better for it.
 
I am happy to see more sun light.

Not since the 1980s a chunk of Arctic air broke off and through the Christmas weekend temperatures around 10 F or -12 C with wind chill factor of a -20 F or -28 C.

OUCH !
 
catseye said:
And a very Merry Solstice to you all!

Get your vests off and have a jump around a bonfire - you'll feel the better for it.
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My vest is staying firmly tucked in since I went back to put it on first thing this morning. But I'm up for a celebration of the return of the Light! Blessed Solstice all round.
(Normally I would suggest a sacrifice - perhaps the least useful member of the family - but I don't think I can stand too much eye-rolling from the Teenager...)
 
As a winter lover, there's always someone in my life who will proudly announce "Nights are getting lighter, eh?".

And a very merry solstice to you all, my fortean colleagues!

I would also like to share a cherished, favourite animation by Yuri Norstein...

 
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