- Welcome back for more Wintertime Nature Exploring.

Now that winter's here, have you noticed it's getting dark earlier when you're outside playing or looking from a window?

Well, if you're as curious as I am you've probably wondered why it gets dark earlier during the winter months compared to other times of the year.

Well, it has to do with winter solstice.

To explain this, we need to look no further than our friends from Nature Cat.

Maybe they can shed some light on the reason it gets dark earlier and explain what winter solstice is anyway.

Okay, Nature Cat, take it away.

Everyone say "Tally ho."

- Today's the winter solstice.

Oh yeah, oh yeah.

Oh yeah, oh yeah.

- No, way.

The winter solstice is today?

The winter solstice?

Yay!

Woo hoo!

Wait, just one little question.

What's the winter solstice?

- No idea.

- Winter solstice?

Is that a nineties hip hop group?

Day la Solstice.

- Winter solstice is so sweet, you guys.

Check it out.

- [Narrator] You say today is the winter solstice?

Hooray!

It's the shortest day of the year.

Do you know why?

Well, Earth orbits, or circles, around the sun.

It takes a full year, that's 365 days, to make one complete orbit.

Amazing.

Here is where we are now in Earth's orbit at winter solstice.

Whoa.

See how Earth is tilted on an axis as it orbits?

And see how this time of year this northern part of earth is tilted away from the sun.

When this part of the earth is tilted away from the sun, the sun takes less time to go across the sky.

And today at the winter solstice the sun gets across the sky in the shortest amount of time.

That's what makes it the shortest day of the year.

How about that?

- Yeah, how about that, right?

Guys, remember how high the sun was above the Mighty Mountains last summer?

Well look at it now.

- How bizarre.

It's barely visible atop the highest peak.

- And check out our shadows.

- Oh, hey look, they're so long now.

Hi Hal's long shadow.

It's me, Hal.

Extra long for you.

- Yeah, my shadows are short in the summer and now I look like a giraffe.

Ooh!

- Oh yeah, winter solstice.

Winter solstice, oh yeah.