3013. The Earth’s tilt © Bruce Goodman 7 June 2024

Dave looked forward every year to the Winter Solstice. He lived in the Southern Hemisphere so the cold of winter was in the month of June. Dave would put out a hint of Christmas in the living room – perhaps a touch of holly from the tree on the corner down the road, or the little statue he had of Mickey Mouse holding a sign that said “Let it snow”. (Not that it snowed where he lived but he could always dream of a White Christmas). On the Winter Solstice, Dave and his wife would call into work ill, and spend the rest of the day roasting a turkey and generally preparing their evening feast. It was a celebration of hope; the long winter nights would slowly draw out into Spring. The movement of Planet Earth would shift. Things would become warmer. Snowdrops would sprout in the garden. “The winter solstice occurs when the Earth's poles reaches their maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice a year; once in the Northern Hemisphere and once in the Southern Hemisphere,” Dave explained to his three children when they came home from school. “It is the shortest day and the longest night. The tilt of the earth changes direction.” Except this year it didn’t. The Earth kept on going. It kept on tilting further and further… Contact Author Back to Index Next Story Previous Story