The solstice occurs when the South Pole is tilted furthest away from the Sun, resulting in the least daylight hours of the year. How much sunlight you’ll get depends on where you live; the closer you are to the equator, the longer your day.

Here’s how the daylight stacks up across the capital cities, from south to north:

Hobart: 9 hours Melbourne: 9 hours 32 minutes Canberra: 9 hours 46 minutes Adelaide: 9 hours 48 minutes Sydney: 9 hours 54 minutes Perth: 10 hours 3 minutes Brisbane: 10 hours 24 minutes Darwin: 11 hours 23 minutes

These variations are all thanks to Earth’s 23.5-degree axial tilt. As the planet makes its yearly journey around the Sun, this tilt changes the angle and intensity of sunlight, creating our seasons and shifting day lengths.

The solstice will officially occur at 12:42 pm AEST (just after noon for the NT and SA), signalling the start of the longest night of the year.

From here, the days will slowly start getting longer, even if winter is just beginning.