Newgrange Solstice - 22nd December 2009
In the Northern Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice takes place either on the 21st or 22nd of December. At sunrise on these shortest days of the year, a remarkable man-made phenomenon unfolds at Newgrange, where, for a span of 17 minutes, sunlight dramatically bathes the chamber of this ancient monument.
Enjoy this chronological photographic essay of the Winter Solstice at Newgrange on 22nd December 2009.
8:46am - A promising horizon viewed from the entrance to Newgrange over a standing stone
8:50am - Solstice watchers waiting for the sun to rise over Red Mountain
8:54am - Sunrise viewed from the entrance to Newgrange over a standing stone
8:56am - Beam of light shining through the roofbox, the sunbeam reaches the chamber at 8:58am
8:59am - The white quartz glows in the sunlight
8:59am - The sunbeam is illuminating the chamber through the 19 metre passage
9:00am - Perfect conditions for the Solstice Lottery winners inside the Newgrange chamber
9:04am - It's the sunbeam from the roofbox above the passage that reaches the chamber
9:09am - Magnificent glow from the winter sunrise at Newgrange
9:10am - It's the higher sunbeam from the Roofbox that illuminates the chamber inside Newgrange
9:12am - The Roofbox over the entrance where the solstice sun is beamed to the chamber
9:14am - A long shadow from a Standing Stone
9:17am - Waiting patiently for the Solstice Lottery winners to exit the chamber
9:32am - The sunbeam has left the chamber but is still in the passage. There is a 15 minute gap since the last photograph because I was inside the chamber with the group that had been waiting patiently at the entrance
9:36am - Just a few stragglers and staff at the Newgrange entrance
9:38am - Time to make way for the regular guided tours
9:39am - A Robin at the Newgrange entrance
9:41am - The shadow from the Standing Stone points to the Newgrange entrance
9:43am - As we leave Newgrange the Robin poses for a final photo.
Newgrange Winter Solstice Archive
- 21st December 2025 Winter Solstice.
- 19th December 2024 Winter Solstice.
- 19th December 2023 Winter Solstice.
- 20th December 2022 Winter Solstice.
- 20th December 2020 Winter Solstice.
- 18th December 2016 Winter Solstice.
- 20th December 2015 Winter Solstice.
- 19th December 2014 Winter Solstice.
- 21st December 2013 Winter Solstice.
- 18th December 2011 Winter Solstice.
- 22nd December 2010 Winter Solstice.
- 19th December 2010 Winter Solstice.
- 18th December 2010 Winter Solstice.
- 22nd December 2009 Winter Solstice.
- 21st December 2009 Winter Solstice.
- 21st December 2008 Winter Solstice.
- 21st December 2007 Winter Solstice.
- 22nd December 2006 Winter Solstice.
- 21st December 2006 Winter Solstice.
- 21st December 2005 Winter Solstice.
- 20th December 2005 Winter Solstice.
- 21st December 2004 Winter Solstice.
- 19th December 2004 Winter Solstice.
- 21st December 2003 Winter Solstice.
- 22nd December 2002 Winter Solstice.
- 21st December 2001 Winter Solstice.
Setting Sun Alignments
The Winter Solstice Setting Sun illuminates the chamber at the nearby Dowth mound and at the cairn on Slieve Gullion in Co. Armagh.