Tonight is going to be the longest night of the year


Tonight is the winter solstice, which is also known as the longest night of the year for people living in the Northern Hemisphere.

Earlier, according to MSN, it was reported as the longest night ever, but in actuality, that happened in 1912.

Factors other than the rotating speed of the Earth can also impact the length of the night. The trends went up and down during the 20th century, partially from the melting of ice caps, contributing to the longest day being about 100 years ago.

So that means for anyone living in the Northern Hemisphere, the darkness tonight will be just a bit longer than the darkness everywhere else.

Why tonight will be the longest:

Each day increases in time just barely each year, those millionths add up to ‘leap seconds’ every couple of years.

The moon’s existence contributes to Earth slowing down, the pull of the moon’s gravity increased an Earth day from 6 to 24 hours over the last four billion years.

The moon’s pull creates ocean tides as it pulls the water away from the surface of the Earth, that friction just slightly slows the Earth’s rotation.

What makes the winter solstice the longest night:

As the Earth spins, it’s on a tilted axis, and currently the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the sun.

The angled axis is what creates the changes of the seasons as well.

So while those in the Northern Hemisphere are having the longest nights and shortest days, those in the Southern Hemisphere are having the opposite.