Oman will witness the winter solstice on Sunday

The winter solstice phenomenon for the year 2025 will begin tomorrow in the Sultanate of Oman, and thus it will be the first day of winter astronomically in the northern hemisphere of the Earth.
The phenomenon will begin at 7:03 pm local time, and on this day, the night will be the longest and the day the shortest of the other days of the year.

Ma’ather bint Khamis al Wahibiyah, head of the Community Outreach Committee at the Oman Astronomy and Space Society, said that tomorrow will be the shortest day and the longest night, with the sun rising in Muscat at 6:44 AM and setting at 5:25 PM Oman time.
The day will last 10 hours and 41 minutes. This marks the first day of winter, which will last for 88 days, 23 hours, and 42 minutes.

She explained that the winter solstice is an astronomical event caused by the tilt of the Earth's axis and its movement in its orbit around the sun. Because the Earth is not perpendicular to the sun as it revolves, but rather tilted at an angle of 23.5 degrees, the northern and southern hemispheres alternate in receiving sunlight.
The distance between the Earth and the sun is not the cause. Therefore, it is a common misconception to say that summer and winter result from the Earth's proximity to or distance from the sun. The Earth is at its closest point to the sun (perihelion) during winter in the northern hemisphere, which confirms that the coldness of winter is not related to the distance between the Earth and the sun, but rather to the angle at which the sun's rays strike the Earth.

She added that during this phenomenon, the sun reaches its southernmost point in the sky, and the North Pole is tilted away from the sun at the time of the winter solstice. Therefore, not all places around the Earth have a sunrise and sunset on the day of the winter solstice, as is the case in the north of the Arctic Circle, because the sun remains below the horizon all day, while in the Antarctic Circle, there will not be a sunrise or sunset either, because the sun remains above the horizon all day, a phenomenon known as the midnight sun.

She pointed out that the sunrise from the far southeast and the low apparent path of the sun characterize the winter solstice, and it is also noticeable that the shadows of objects are at their longest during the year.

She explained that this phenomenon comes after the autumnal equinox that occurred during September, as the apparent movement of the sun continued gradually towards the south after it was perpendicular to the equator on the day of the autumnal equinox.
The length of the day gradually shortened in the northern hemisphere, and this gradual change will reach its peak at the shortest day and longest night on the day of the winter solstice phenomenon, while the opposite occurs on the same day in the southern hemisphere of the Earth.

She said: The Earth has two movements. The first is its movement around its axis from west to east once every 24 hours, approximately, which results in the alternation of night and day. The second is its movement in its orbit around the sun once every 365.25 days approximately, which results in the alternation of the four astronomical seasons.

She said, “At the winter solstice, it will appear as if the sun rises from a single point in the southern sky for a few days before it begins its apparent northward path again as a result of the Earth’s movement in its orbit around the sun. This will continue for several days, and then the hours of daylight will begin to increase until they are equal to the night with the occurrence of the spring equinox, which will take place on March 20, 2026.”