Winter solstice is an astronomical phenomenon which for the Northern Hemisphere occurs in December and which for the Southern Hemisphere occurs in June.
For the Northern Hemisphere, the moment of winter solstice is when the sun's elevation with respect to the North Pole is at its most negative value since the previous December. (The elevation with respect to the South Pole is at its greatest since the previous December.) The hemisphere has its longest night and shortest day around the moment of solstice with the night within the Arctic being 24 hours long.
Analogous remarks hold for the Southern Hemisphere. Thus, for the Southern Hemisphere, at the moment of its winter solstice in June, the sun is at its greatest height as observed from the North Pole
Depending on one's position on the globe, the December solstice usually occurs on the 21st and the 22nd and the June solstice usually occurs on June the 20th, 21st, or 22nd. Thus the December 2016 solstice coincides with 20th of the month in American Samoa, with the 21st in London and with the 22nd at Kiritimati.
The axial tilt of Earth and gyroscopic effects of the planet's daily rotation keep the axis of rotation pointed at the same point in the sky. As the Earth follows its orbit around the Sun, the same hemisphere that faced away from the Sun, experiencing winter, will, in half a year, face towards the Sun and experience summer. Since the two hemispheres face opposite directions along the planetary pole, as one polar hemisphere experiences winter, the other experiences summer.
More evident from high latitudes, a hemisphere's winter solstice occurs on the shortest day and longest night of the year, when the sun's daily maximum elevation in the sky is the lowest.
The winter solstice itself lasts only a moment in time, so other terms are used for the day on which it occurs, such as "midwinter", or "the shortest day". For the same reason, it should not be confused with "the first day of winter" or "the start of winter" (Lidong in the East Asian calendars). The seasonal significance of the winter solstice is in the reversal of the gradual lengthening of nights and shortening of days. The earliest sunset and latest sunrise dates differ from winter solstice, however, and these depend on latitude, due to the variation in the solar day throughout the year caused by the Earth's elliptical orbit (see earliest and latest sunrise and sunset).
Worldwide, interpretation of the event has varied from culture to culture, but many cultures have held a recognition of rebirth, involving holidays, festivals, gatherings, rituals or other celebrations around that time.
An equinox occurs twice a year, around 20 March and 22 September. The word itself has several related definitions. The oldest meaning is the day when daytime and night are of approximately equal duration. The word equinox comes from this definition, derived from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night). The equinox is not exactly the same as the day when period of daytime and night are of equal length for two reasons. Firstly, sunrise, which begins daytime, occurs when the top of the Sun's disk rises above the eastern horizon. At that instant, the disk's center is still below the horizon. Secondly, Earth's atmosphere refracts sunlight. As a result, an observer sees daylight before the first glimpse of the Sun's disk above the horizon. To avoid this ambiguity, the word equilux is sometimes used to mean a day on which the periods of daylight and night are equal.Times of sunset and sunrise vary with an observer's location (longitude and latitude), so the dates when day and night are of exactly equal length likewise depend on location.
The other definitions are based on several related simultaneous astronomical events, and refer either to the events themselves or to the days on which they occur. These events are the reason that the period of daytime and night are approximately equal on the day of an equinox.
An equinox occurs when the plane of Earth's Equator passes the center of the Sun. At that instant, the tilt of Earth's axis neither inclines away from nor towards the Sun. The two annual equinoxes are the only times when the subsolar point—the place on Earth's surface where the center of the Sun is exactly overhead—is on the Equator, and, conversely, the Sun is at zenith over the Equator. The subsolar point crosses the equator, moving northward at the March equinox and southward at the September equinox.
At an equinox, the Sun is at one of the two opposite points on the celestial sphere where the celestial equator (i.e. declination 0) and ecliptic intersect. These points of intersection are called equinoctial points: classically, the vernal point (RA = 00h 00m 00s and longitude = 0º) and the autumnal point (RA = 12h 00m 00s and longitude = 180º).
The equinoxes are the only times when the solar terminator is perpendicular to the Equator. As a result, the Northern and Southern Hemispheres are illuminated equally.
Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior ; born 5 February 1992), commonly known as Neymar, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Spanish club FC Barcelona in La Liga and the Brazilian national team as a forward or winger.
At the age of 19, Neymar won the 2011 South American Footballer of the Year award, after coming third in 2010. He followed this up by winning it again in 2012. In 2011 Neymar received nominations for the FIFA Ballon d'Or, where he came 10th, and the FIFA Puskás Award for Goal of the Year, which he won. He is known for his acceleration, speed, dribbling, finishing and ability with both feet. His playing style has earned him critical acclaim, with fans, media and former players drawing comparison to former Brazil forward Pelé, who has called Neymar "an excellent player", while Ronaldinho has stated "he will be the best in the world".
Neymar joined Santos in 2003 and, after rising through the ranks, was promoted to their first team squad. He made his debut for Santos in 2009 and was voted the Best Young Player of the 2009 Campeonato Paulista. Further awards followed, with Neymar being voted best player as Santos won the 2010 Campeonato Paulista, and also being top scorer in the 2010 Copa do Brasil with 11 goals. He finished the 2010 season with 42 goals in 60 games, as his club achieved the Double. Neymar was again voted best player of the year in 2011 as his side retained the state title and Santos also winning the 2011 Copa Libertadores in which Neymar scored 6 goals in 13 appearances. He also played a key role in securing a Continental Double for his team, Santos' first since 1963. He received the Bronze Ball in the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup, with Santos making it to the final, where they were defeated 4–0 by Barcelona.
Neymar has represented Brazil at Under-17, Under-20 and senior levels. On 10 August 2010, at the age of 18, he made his debut for the Seleção in a friendly match against the United States; he scored from a header in the 28th minute, contributing to Brazil's 2–0 win. Neymar was the top scorer of the 2011 South American Youth Championship with nine goals, including two in the final, in the 6–0 win against Uruguay, helping Brazil to win their eleventh title in the competition. Neymar was selected as part of Luiz Felipe Scolari's Brazil squad for the 2013 Confederations Cup on home soil. For the tournament he was assigned the iconic number 10 shirt. On 30 June, Neymar scored Brazil's second goal in the 3–0 final win over Spain. Neymar's performances saw him awarded the golden ball for the best player of the tournament. With 35 goals in 52 matches for Brazil, he is the sixth highest goalscorer for his national team.In 2012 and 2013, SportsPro named him the most marketable athlete in the world. In December 2013, Neymar was ranked by The Guardian as the sixth best player in the world.
Lionel Andrés Messi ; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team. He serves as the captain of his country's national football team.
By the age of 21, Messi had received Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations. The following year, in 2009, he won his first Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. He followed this up by winning the inaugural FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2010, and then again in 2011 and 2012. He also won the 2010–11 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. At the age of 24, Messi became Barcelona's all-time top scorer in all official club competitions. At age 25, Messi became the youngest player to score 200 goals in La Liga's matches.
Commonly ranked as the best player in the world and rated by some in the sport as the greatest of all time, Messi is the first football player in history to win four FIFA/Ballons d'Or, all of which he won consecutively, as well as the first to win three European Golden Shoe awards. With Barcelona, Messi has won six La Ligas, two Copas del Rey, five Supercopas de España, three UEFA Champions Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups and two Club World Cups.
Messi is the first and only player to top-score in four consecutive Champions League campaigns, and also holds the record for the most hat-tricks scored (4) in the competition. In March 2012, Messi made Champions League history by becoming the first player to score five goals in one match. He also matched José Altafini's record of 14 goals in a single Champions League season. Messi set the European record for most goals scored in a season during the 2011–12 season, with 73 goals. In the same season, he set the current goalscoring record in a single La Liga season, scoring 50 goals. Also in that season, Messi became the first player ever to score and assist in six different official competitions in one season. On 16 February 2013, Messi scored his 300th Barcelona goal. On 30 March 2013, Messi scored in his 19th consecutive La Liga game, becoming the first footballer in history to net in consecutive matches against every team in a professional football league. He extended his record scoring streak to 21 consecutive league matches, and the run came to a halt only when he sustained a hamstring injury. In March 2014, with a hat-trick against Real Madrid, Messi became the player with most goals and most hat-tricks in the history of El Clásico.
Messi helped Argentina win the 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup, finishing as both the best player and the top scorer (with 6 goals). In 2006, he became the youngest Argentine to play and score in the FIFA World Cup, and won a runners-up medal at the Copa América in 2007, in which he was elected young player of the tournament. In 2008, he won his first international honour, an Olympic Gold Medal, with the Argentina Olympic football team. SportsPro has rated him as the second-most marketable athlete in the world. His playing style and stature have drawn comparisons to compatriot Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi his "successor".
Sergio Ramos García born 30 March 1986) is a Spanish professional
footballer who plays for Real Madrid and Spain. Mainly a central defender, he can perform equally as a right back.
After emerging through Sevilla's youth system, he went on to be a mainstay for Real Madrid. He acted as vice-captain for the latter, also being one of La Liga's top scorers from a defensive position.
Internationally Ramos competed with the Spanish national team in three World Cups and two European Championships, winning the former tournament in 2010 and the latter in 2008 and 2012. He made his first appearance at the age of 18 and, in 2013, he became the youngest player to ever reach 100 caps.
Raúl González Blanco (born 27 June 1977), commonly known as Raúl, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for the Qatar Stars League club Al Sadd as a striker. Raúl was born in the San Cristóbal de los Ángeles neighborhood of Madrid where he played for the local youth team before moving to the Atlético Madrid youth team. He later moved to Real Madrid's youth academy and played at its various levels. In 1994, he signed his first professional contract with the fourth division team Real Madrid C and then was swiftly promoted to the first division team.
Thanks to his goals and appearances, he is considered one of the most important players in the history of Real Madrid and European football. Moreover, he is regarded to be the greatest ever Spanish player. Raúl spent 16 years of his career playing for Real Madrid and is the club's all-time top goalscorer with 323 goals, just ahead of Alfredo Di Stéfano, who scored 307 goals. Raúl is also the most capped player in the history of the club with 741 appearances, just ahead of Sanchís. With los Blancos, he won six La Liga titles, three UEFA Champions League titles (scoring in two finals), four Supercopa de España titles, one UEFA Super Cup and two Intercontinental Cup becoming the Champions League's all-time leading goalscorer and second most capped player (behind Ryan Giggs). In 2003, he was appointed captain of the team and retained that position until his departure from the club in 2010.
In La Liga competitions, Raúl is the fourth highest goal scorer in the history of the tournament with 228 goals, just behind Telmo Zarra (251 goals), Hugo Sánchez (234 goals) and Lionel Messi (230 goals). He is also the highest Spanish scorer in European national competitions with 256 goals, scoring 228 goals in La Liga and 28 goals in the Bundesliga. Moreover, he is the second most capped player in the history of the Spanish competition, with 550 games played, just behind Andoni Zubizarreta (622 games). In European competitions, he is the all-time leading scorer of the UEFA tournaments, just ahead Filippo Inzaghi and Gerd Müller.
He was named the best striker in the world by IFFHS in 1999, and is the only player that has won the UEFA "Best Forward of the Year" award three times, in 2000, 2001 and 2002. He was the second in the ranking of Ballon d'Or 2001 and the third ranked in 2001 FIFA World Player of the Year. In 2004, he was included in the FIFA 100 list as one of the "greatest living footballers". He was also included in the UEFA list of the fifty best European players of the period 1954–2004. He was part of the "European Team Of The Year" of European Sports Media in 1997, 1999 and 2000.He won two Pichichi trophies (1999 and 2001), two "Best Goal Scorer" of UEFA Champions League (2000 and 2001), five Don Balón Award (1997, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002) and one "Best Player of Intercontinental Cup" in (1988).
Following a season that saw him plagued by injuries, he moved to German side FC Schalke 04 in 2010. After a slow start to his season, Raúl regained his form and helped his team win the DFB-Pokal and the DFL-Supercup by scoring goals at crucial junctures. He scored 40 goals in 98 total appearances during his two-year stay at Schalke 04. In February 2012, he scored the 400th goal of his career, during the match between FC Schalke 04 and VfL Wolfsburg.
After declining to sign an extension of his contract at Schalke 04, he signed with the Qatari side Al Sadd in 2012. He won the Qatar Stars League in his first season and he reached 1,000 games played in his career.
Though he did not win any major competitions while playing for the Spanish national football team, he scored a then-record 44 goals in 102 appearances for la Roja, appearing in three FIFA World Cups and two European championships. He took over the captaincy of the side in 2002 and held it until 2006, the year in which he played his last international match for Spain. Raúl is married to model Mamen Sanz and has five children with her.
PARA SIEMPRE MI ETERNO CAPITÁN.
Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English footballer who plays as a forward for Manchester United and the England national team.
Aged nine, Rooney joined the youth team of Everton, for whom he made his professional debut in 2002 at the age of 16. He spent two seasons at the Merseyside club, before moving to Manchester United for £25.6 million in the 2004 summer transfer window. The same year, Rooney acquired the nickname "Wazza". Since then, with Rooney in the team, United have won the Premier League five times, the UEFA Champions League once, the FIFA Club World Cup once and the League Cup twice. In September 2013, Rooney scored his 200th goal for United. He is currently on 216 goals, making him the club's third-highest goalscorer of all time.
Rooney made his senior international debut in February 2003 aged 17, becoming the youngest player to represent England (a record since broken by Theo Walcott). He is England's youngest ever goalscorer. He played at UEFA Euro 2004 and scored four goals, briefly becoming the youngest goalscorer in the history of the European Championship. Rooney featured at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups and is widely regarded as his country's best player. He has won the England Player of the Year award twice, in 2008 and 2009. As of June 2014, he has won 95 international caps and scored 40 goals, making him England's fourth highest goalscorer in history. Along with David Beckham, Rooney is the most red carded player for England, having been sent off twice.
In 2009–10, Rooney was awarded the PFA Players' Player of the Year and the FWA Footballer of the Year. He has won the Premier League Player of the Month award five times, a record he shares with Steven Gerrard. He came fifth in the vote for the 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or and was named in the FIFPro World 11 for 2011. Rooney has won the 'Goal of the Season' award by the BBC's Match of the Day poll on three occasions, with his bicycle kick against rivals Manchester City winning the 'Premier League Goal of the 20 Seasons' award. A March 2012 report listed Rooney as the fifth highest-paid player in the world, with an annual income of $32.6 million.
Queen Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India.
Victoria was the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, the fourth son of King George III. Both the Duke of Kent and King George III died in 1820, and Victoria was raised under close supervision by her German-born mother Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. She inherited the throne at the age of 18, after her father's three elder brothers had all died, leaving no legitimate, surviving children. The United Kingdom was already an established constitutional monarchy, in which the sovereign held relatively little direct political power. Privately, Victoria attempted to influence government policy and ministerial appointments. Publicly, she became a national icon, and was identified with strict standards of personal morality.
Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1840. Their nine children married into royal and noble families across the continent, tying them together and earning her the nickname "the grandmother of Europe". After Albert's death in 1861, Victoria plunged into deep mourning and avoided public appearances. As a result of her seclusion, republicanism temporarily gained strength, but in the latter half of her reign, her popularity recovered. Her Golden and Diamond Jubilees were times of public celebration.
Her reign of 63 years and seven months, which is longer than that of any other British monarch and the longest of any female monarch in history, is known as the Victorian era. It was a period of industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire. She was the last British monarch of the House of Hanover. Her son and successor, Edward VII, belonged to the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the line of his father.
Iker Casillas Fernández ; born 20 May 1981 is a Spanish football goalkeeper who plays for and captains both La Liga club Real Madrid and the Spanish national team. In 2008 he was the captain of the Spanish team that won their first European Championship in 44 years, the Spanish team that went on to win Spain's first World Cup (a tournament in which he won the Golden Glove and known as Yashin Award) and the 2012 European Championship.
Having won the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper Award for five consecutive years, he is considered to be one of the finest goalkeepers of all time. Casillas was nominated for the European Footballer of the Year award in 2008, ranking fourth overall. At the end of 2012 he was voted into the UEFA Team of the Year for the sixth consecutive time.
As of 2011 Casillas is one of a very select group of players who have won all major club and national championship titles. In 2010, he was awarded with the Sports Prince of Asturias Award. On 19 October 2010, Casillas became the goalkeeper with most appearances of all time in the UEFA Champions League and in November 2011, he became the most capped player of all time for the Spanish national team. Currently, he has amassed a combined total of 155 caps for his country. Iker Casillas is the third captain in football history to lift the World Cup, the European Cup and the European Championships after Franz Beckenbauer and Didier Deschamps.
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, (born 5 February 1985),known as Cristiano Ronaldo, or simply CR7 is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club Real Madrid and captains the Portugal national team. He became the most expensive footballer in history when he moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid in 2009 in a transfer worth £80 million (€94 million/$132 million). Ronaldo's contract with Real Madrid, under the terms of which he is paid €21 million per year (after taxes), makes him the highest-paid footballer in the world, and his buyout clause is valued at €1 billion as per his contract. He is regarded by some in the sport to be currently the best player in the world.
Ronaldo began his career as a youth player for Andorinha, where he played for 2 years, before moving to C.D. Nacional. In 1997, he made a move to Portuguese giants Sporting Clube de Portugal. Ronaldo caught the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, who signed him for £12.2 million (€15 million) in 2003. In 2004, Ronaldo won his first club honour, the FA Cup.
In 2007, Ronaldo was the first player in England to win all 4 main PFA and FWA awards. In 2008 and 2013, he won the FIFA/Ballon d'Or award for the best footballer in the world, the first Portuguese player to win the award twice. He was awarded the European Golden Shoe in 2008, 2011 and 2014. In 2008, he won 3 of the 4 main PFA and FWA trophies and was named the FIFA World Player of the Year, FIFPro Player of the Year, World Soccer Player of the Year, and the Onze d'Or.In 2007 and 2008, Ronaldo was named FWA Footballer of the Year. He was the inaugural winner of the FIFA Puskás Award for Goal of the Year in 2009. In a 2014 UEFA poll, Ronaldo was named the greatest goalscorer to play in the UEFA Champions League. He is tied for the competition's second top goalscorer of all time with 67 goals, only trailing Raúl with four more.
Ronaldo is the first top European league player to reach 40 goals in a single season in two consecutive years, fastest Real Madrid player to reach 100 league goals, and the first player to score against every team in a single season in La Liga. He holds the record for most goals scored in a season for Real Madrid. In January 2014, Ronaldo scored his 400th career goal. After spending his first year at Madrid wearing the number 9 shirt, he began wearing the number 7 again following the departure of long-serving striker Raúl. Ronaldo had previously worn the number 7 shirt at Manchester United.
Ronaldo is a Portuguese international and made his debut in August 2003. He has been capped over 100 times and is Portugal's top goalscorer of all time. With Portugal he has participated in 6 major tournaments; UEFA Euro 2004, the 2006 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2008, the 2010 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2012, and the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He scored his first international goal in the opening game of Euro 2004 against Greece, in addition to helping Portugal reach the final. He took over captaincy in July 2008 and captained them to the Euro 2012 semi-finals finishing the competition as joint-top scorer.
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera born 3 June 1986 is a Spanish professional tennis player and the current world No. 1. His success on clay has earned him the nickname "The King of Clay" and has led many sports journalists and commentators, as well as former and current players, to regard him as the greatest clay court player in history. Furthermore, his evolution into an all-court threat has established him as one of the greatest players of all time, with some considering him the greatest.
Nadal has won 14 Grand Slam singles titles, the 2008 Olympic gold medal in singles, a record 27 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 and a record 15 ATP World Tour 500 tournaments.
He was also a member of the winning Spain Davis Cup team in 2004, 2008, 2009, and 2011. In 2010, he became the seventh player in history and youngest of four in the Open Era to achieve the Career Grand Slam. He is the second male player, after Andre Agassi, to complete the singles Career Golden Slam.
Nadal and Mats Wilander are the only two players in history who have won at least two Grand Slam titles on three different surfaces—hard court, grass, and clay. By winning the 2014 French Open,Nadal became the only male player to win a single Grand Slam tournament nine times and the first to win at least one Grand Slam tournament for ten consecutive years, breaking the record of eight consecutive years previously shared by Björn Borg, Pete Sampras, and Roger Federer. His victory at the 2014 French Open brought him level with Sampras at 14 Grand Slam singles titles, second only to Federer's record of 17. Nadal holds the record for most consecutive titles at a particular tournament after winning his eighth straight Monte-Carlo Masters in 2012.
Napoleon Bonaparte 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the latter stages of the French Revolution and its associated wars in Europe.
As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1814 and again in 1815. He implemented a wide array of liberal reforms across Europe, including the abolition of feudalism and the spread of religious toleration. His legal code in France, the Napoleonic Code, influenced numerous civil law jurisdictions worldwide. Napoleon is remembered for his role in leading France against a series of coalitions in the Napoleonic Wars. He won the majority of his battles and seized control of most of continental Europe in a quest for personal power and to spread the ideals of the French Revolution. Widely regarded as one of the greatest commanders in history, his campaigns are studied at military academies worldwide. He remains one of the most studied political and military leaders in all of history.
Napoleon was born in Corsica in a family of noble Italian ancestry that had settled in Corsica in the 16th century. He spoke French with a heavy Corsican accent. Well-educated, he rose to prominence under the French First Republic and led successful campaigns against the enemies of the French revolution who set up the First and Second Coalitions, most notably his campaigns in Italy.
He took power in a coup d'état in 1799 and installed himself as First Consul. In 1804 he made himself emperor of the French people. He fought a series of wars —the Napoleonic Wars—that involved complex coalitions for and against him. After a streak of victories, France secured a dominant position in continental Europe, and Napoleon maintained the French sphere of influence through the formation of extensive alliances and the elevation of friends and family members to rule other European countries as French vassal states.
The Peninsular War (1807–14) and the French invasion of Russia in 1812 marked major military failures. His Grande Armée was badly damaged and never fully recovered. In 1813, the Sixth Coalition defeated his forces at the Battle of Leipzig and his enemies invaded France. Napoleon was forced to abdicate and go in exile to the Italian island of Elba. In 1815 he escaped and returned to power, but he was finally defeated at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815. He spent the last 6 years of his life in confinement by the British on the island of Saint Helena. An autopsy concluded he died of stomach cancer but there has been debate about the cause of his death, and some scholars have speculated he was a victim of arsenic poisoning.
