Griffith Observatory Marks Shortest Day Of The Year With Winter Solstice Activities December 21

As fall ends and winter arrives in the northern hemisphere, Griffith Observatory invites members of the news media to cover the winter solstice on Sunday, December 21, 2014, at local noon (11:51 a.m., PST) and at sunset (4:48 p.m., PST). Observatory staff will provide interpretation of the Sun’s travel on the shortest day of the year.

The winter solstice occurs at 3:03 p.m., PST, on December 21, 2014, and marks the beginning of winter. It is the moment when Earth’s orbital motion points the North Pole to its greatest angle away from the Sun. From the northern hemisphere, the apparent daily path of the Sun takes its southernmost and shortest path through the sky, which results in the shortest day of the year, 9 hours and 53 minutes in Los Angeles. Winter ends at the vernal equinox – the start of spring in the northern hemisphere – on March 20, 2015.

Sunday, December 21, 2014. Local noon presentation by Dr. E. C. Krupp, Director, Griffith Observatory, begins at 11:45 a.m. Sunset presentation by Dr. Laura Danly, Curator, Griffith Observatory, begins at 4:40 p.m. Gottlieb Transit Corridor (local noon) & West Terrace (sunset)

Griffith Observatory, 2800 East Observatory Road, Los Angeles, Calif. 90027