December 21, 1997
Your birthday is not just a date on a calendar. It is the yearly return of a moment when the universe became more observant, more feeling,...
A Winter Solstice
Birthday · December 21, 1997
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APOD published December 21, 1997. Full image credits are on the original APOD entry below. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Today is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. The yearly cycle of Seasons on planet Earth once again finds the Sun at its lowest point in the Northern Sky. The Sun's own 11 year cycle of activity is progressing toward a maximum which will occur in 2000-2001. This image of the Sun in the light of ionized Helium was recorded by the space-based SOHO observatory only three days ago and shows many prominences and active regions.