Yellowknife (Dec 24/03) - People can look forward to longer days ahead now that the winter solstice has passed.

On Dec. 22, Yellowknife residents experienced the shortest day of the year, seeing only four hours and 53 minutes of daylight.

The sun rose at 10:07 a.m. and set at 3:04 p.m.

To mark the event, Astronomy North held a viewing session on Pilot's Monument, Monday evening.

President James Pugsley said that the event is basically a celebration to mark the winter solstice, one which has had such a huge impact over thousands of years.

"Particularity in the North, it (the darkness) made it difficult for hunting and gathering," he said.

Pugsley said that at 12:04 a.m. on Tuesday, the North Pole was tilted exactly 23.5 degrees away from the sun.

This is the furthest possible position from the sun the North Pole will experience during the course of the year.

The word solstice comes from the Latin word solstitium, which Pugsley said means "sun stop."

He explained that the sun appears at its lowest point in the sky, as well as in the same spot for a number of days before and after the solstice.

From here on in, the days will actually be getting longer, but Pugsley said that it will take some time to notice.

"Over the next few days, we will see the sunlight increase," he said. "It isn't really easy to measure. It's very gradual."

Pugsley also added that there is a misconception surrounding the winter solstice event. He said that while most people think the reason behind the short days is because the earth is furthest away from the sun, that in fact is not the case.

"On Jan. 4, 2004, the earth actually makes its closest pass near the sun," he said. "We're right next to the fire, but (the North Pole) is just pointed furthest away."