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Please note that while it is the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, those of us in the Antipodes are presently enjoying the sunburnt splendor of the Summer Solstice, otherwise known as Lithia, and a few other things. It may simply be clearer to say Solstice, dropping the Winter/Summer designation as ambiguous. Mark Pesce (talk) 07:49, 12 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

At the Tropic of Cancer on the December Solstice is where the sun goes 90 degrees below the horizon at solar midnight.

And the Tropic of Capricorn on the June Solstice is where the sun also goes 90 degrees below the horizon at solar midnight.

--2605:A000:1103:79B:69A7:888D:8006:AC7B (talk) 20:40, 20 August 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I like to define the solstices as the moments when the right ascension of the centre of the solar disk is precisely 6h (northern solstice) or 18h (southern solstice). --  Denelson83  18:47, 21 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

This is equivalent to using the geocentric longitude, as mentioned in the "Solstice determination" section near the end of the article. --Lasunncty (talk) 01:45, 22 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

But the term "geocentric longitude" in this context seems a little vague. Should it not say "celestial longitude" or just straight up refer to right ascension instead? --  Denelson83  22:16, 22 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I think "celestial longitude" is sufficient. I guess to be accurate, the actual coordinate system used is ecliptic rather than equatorial, although they yield nearly identical results. --Lasunncty (talk) 06:58, 24 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The section "Definitions and frames of reference" currently specifies "two solstices and two equinoxes in a tropical year" but is that really a criterion? Without much research (and it would have to be dismissed as {OR} anyway), I'd be fairly confident to bet there are two of either in any kind of year, be it tropical, sidereal, fiscal, or other, with the possible exception (or at least caveat) of a lunar "year", although even there I can't see how there'd be any number other than two. The source given is cited as "For an introduction to these topics of astronomy refer to Bowditch, Nathaniel (2002)", which is rather broad in scope, and skimming pp. 228ff. I couldn't find any mention of tropical year specifically. Unless and until evidence to the contrary is presented, I'd suggest dropping the 'tropical' entirely, but just in case I'm missing the glaringly obvious, I won't be bold and edit it myself. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2001:A62:1AAC:DC01:F20C:FFB6:11A0:7F59 (talk) 21:30, 26 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

A tropical year is by defined by the cycle of the seasons, so that is the most technically correct version of the year in this context. The sidereal year, for example, is about 0.014 days longer, so would be off by a day about every 71 years. This precession is pretty slow, but eventually you'll have a sidereal year with an extra equinox or solstice. You make a valid point that this is rare enough that maybe it's not important for the wording to be so precise in this more-or-less conceptual paragraph. But in this case the more precise wording doesn't make the concept harder to understand, so I don't think it hurts anything to keep it in. --Lasunncty (talk) 09:27, 27 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I propose to rename "Solstice determination" to Observation and promote to a L2 heading. The early astronomy is, IMO, more scientific than cultural. I started a related conversation at Talk:Winter solstice#Observation Dw31415 (talk) 14:08, 24 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

It may make sense to add a reference to

Ptolemy Dw31415 (talk) 19:46, 24 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]