Khaberni - Emad Mujahed, a member of the Arab Union for Space and Astronomy Science and fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in Britain, stated that the winter solstice would be this coming Sunday, December 21.
He explained that on this day, the sun will be directly above the Tropic of Capricorn, which lies 23.5 degrees south of the celestial equator. This is the sun's southernmost position in its annual journey, marking the start of the astronomical winter in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern Hemisphere, which lasts for 90 days along with the start of the forty days of winter.
According to Mujahed, on the winter solstice day in Amman, the sun will rise at 7:33 AM from the extreme southeast, at an angle of 117 degrees, 38 minutes, and 53 seconds, and will set in the extreme southwest at an angle of 242 degrees at 5:36 PM. Therefore, the night length will be 13 hours and 57 minutes, which is the longest night of the year, while the day length will be only 10 hours and 3 minutes, the shortest day of the year.
Concurrently with the winter solstice day begins the forty days of winter, which are the coldest days of the year lasting 40 days. This period ends on February 1st each year, characterized by intense cold, frostbite, and freezing conditions, especially when eastern winds blow over the area, making the winds very cold and dry.
Mujahed added in a statement to the Jordan News Agency (Petra), that the Arabs used to mark the date of the winter solstice and the start of the forty days of winter by Al-Qalb's rise, which occurs on December 20 every year, and lasts for 13 days. The Arabs knew through the rising of the constellation Scorpius that we are in the coldest days of the year, and the heart of the scorpion is a giant red star seen in the constellation Scorpio during the summer, very low towards the southern sky. Thus, the Arabs considered the star of the heart as one of the Yemeni stars, referring to the southern sky.
The Arabs also called the star of the heart of the scorpion by another name, Al-Ahmar, and knew that with the rising of the heart, the cold intensifies due to the cold winds, especially if they are easterly, as they are very dry and cold. Fog and rain appear more frequently during this period than on other days, and farmers plant vegetables that yield twice a year and require little water due to the frost. During this time farmers also light fires around the farms to raise the low temperatures and protect the crops. Common crops during this period include parsley, cilantro, chamomile, mold, sage, fenugreek, saffron (turmeric), thyme, sugar cane, carrots, beans, and lentils.
After the winter solstice, the sun begins to move north in its apparent motion, where the length of the night decreases and the length of the day increases until they equalize on March 21st, the day of the spring equinox.
--(Petra)
