Connect with us

Technologies

The Longest Night: A Short Guide to the Winter Solstice

The winter solstice arrives later this month, and here’s what that means.

For many people in the US, winter has come a little early, as a few waves of snow and blisteringly cold temperatures have colored the landscape white. It isn’t officially winter yet, and it won’t be until Dec. 21 when the winter solstice takes place. So get ready because Earth’s shortest day is on its way.

What is the winter solstice?

The winter solstice has a few different meanings, so here are all of them. The most common definition, and the one you’re most likely familiar with, is that it denotes the shortest day and longest night of the year on Earth. These times vary depending on your location on the globe, but the further north you live, the less sunlight you’ll get. In the tropics, they’ll get about 12 hours of sunlight. In Sweden, it’ll be closer to six hours. In Svalbard, there isn’t any.

The reason this occurs is due to the second definition of the winter solstice: During this time, the North Pole is tilted as far away from the sun as it can get. According to The Farmer’s Almanac, the moment at which the Earth’s axis is physically tilted as much as it can be is at 10:03 a.m. ET on Dec. 21. After that moment, the process will begin to reverse until the South Pole takes its turn during the summer solstice. At that point, the North Pole will be at its closest tilt to the sun, giving us the longest day and shortest night of the year for the Northern Hemisphere.

How much sunlight will we get?

It’ll vary by location. The southern US will have the most sunlight, with Florida getting a little over 10 hours during the winter solstice. The Midwest and Great Lakes portion of the country will get roughly nine hours. The Pacific Northwest can expect a little less than nine hours. Southern Alaska will get about six hours, and the northern areas of Alaska will see around three hours. 

If you want to see how your area will fare, Time and Date has a sunrise and sunset tool you can use. Input your zip code into the search bar, and you’ll be able to see your sunrise and sunset times. 

The city of Utqiaġvik, Alaska, will have it worse than most in the US: It won’t get any sun at all. The sun won’t rise there again until Jan. 22. We hope the people living there packed their vitamin D supplements. 

The difference between a solstice and an equinox

The autumn equinox was just a few months ago, so you may be curious about the differences. A solstice occurs when the Earth’s poles are tilted as far away from the sun as they’ll be over the course of one year, which is also one orbit around the sun. The equinoxes take place at the halfway points between each solstice. The autumn equinox takes place in September between the summer and winter solstices, while the spring equinox takes place in March between the winter and summer. 

During an equinox, the poles are minimally tilted, and the days are as even as they can be. This also has a couple of other interesting side effects: The sun is pointed directly at the equator during an equinox, and the sun will rise and set directly east and west, respectively. 

Humans use the solstices and equinoxes to mark the change of the seasons. There are two equinoxes and two solstices, which mark the start and end dates for Earth’s four seasons. 

Celebrating the winter solstice

While the solstice is close to the holidays, celebrations for the winter solstice have been around for significantly longer, and some winter solstice traditions have become Christmas traditions as well. One of the most historically famous winter solstice celebrations is Yule, a winter festival originating thousands of years ago among the Ancient Norse. It became commonly celebrated in Europe and involved bonfires and massive feasts. Yule celebrations also included decorating with evergreen tree decorations, like holly and ivy.

If these sound familiar, it’s because Christmas co-opted many of those traditions centuries ago, and the two traditions have kind of merged into a single seasonal holiday. The terms Yule and Christmas are often used interchangeably these days in many cultures.

So if you want to celebrate the winter solstice, just do all of the stuff you would normally do for the holidays. Burn a Yule log, decorate a tree, eat a big feast with your family and hang up mistletoe and wreaths — those are all hat tips to traditional winter solstice celebrations. 

Related Topics:

Technologies

Turns Out Perplexity Might Be the Sleeper Feature on Samsung’s Galaxy S26

Having Perplexity’s AI and models on devices from the world’s biggest phone-maker puts the company under a brighter light.

There were plenty of references to AI at today’s Galaxy Unpacked event. But Samsung isn’t alone; nearly every major smartphone launch in recent years has included new AI features or partnerships with AI companies.

Samsung launched its latest iteration of Galaxy AI, debuting it alongside Galaxy S26 phones. This follows weekend news that the company plans to integrate Perplexity’s AI agent — and even support a «Hey Plex» wake word — on its new phones. But the partnership appears to go beyond simply giving Samsung users another AI option.

Since late 2023, phone-makers have been leapfrogging one another to add generative AI features and integrate AI agents. Nearly every new Android phone supports Google’s Gemini assistant. Apple’s iPhones integrate OpenAI’s ChatGPT into the phone’s Visual Intelligence feature and its Siri overhaul will incorporate Google’s Gemini AI models.

While Perplexity has partnered with phone-makers such as Motorola to preload its app — and has been integrated into devices for Deutsche Telekom — having its AI and models built directly into phones from the world’s largest manufacturer puts the company on a much bigger stage. It marks a shift toward AI agents being just another tool people choose to use, much like a phone app.

«The first step toward an agentic mobile ecosystem is the user getting to choose whatever agent they want,» Dmitry Shevelenko, Perplexity’s chief business officer, told CNET. «I think this is where Samsung is taking a big, big leap forward.»

Perplexity’s Sonar API powers aspects of Samsung’s Galaxy AI ecosystem. Shevelenko said that the company’s engineers worked closely with Samsung’s team to revamp its Bixby assistant at the framework level, getting deep system access. He noted that it’s the first time a third-party AI company has achieved parity on a major mobile OS. The Galaxy S26 phones that Samsung announced support the new «Hey Plex» wake word, putting Perplexity shoulder-to-shoulder with Google’s Gemini AI assistant, which is integrated into Android on Samsung devices.

«What’s unique is the only other company that has it is Google, right?» said Shevelenko. «It’s a real paradigm shift for Samsung to be going into a multi-AI direction, where they are giving their users choice. And I think they see this as a strategic differentiator.»

Samsung’s inclusion of Perplexity touches many of the company’s own apps including Calendar, Clock, Gallery, Notes and Reminders. The benefit of structuring Perplexity’s AI deeply into Samsung’s software is that people can have a lighter interaction with their phones. As opposed to unlocking their device, navigating the home page, opening the app and entering a query, people will be able to simply press a button, say, «Hey Plex,» starting their search within seconds.

But the integration of Perplexity isn’t limited to Bixby. Shevelenko said Samsung’s browser, aptly named Internet, includes agentic browsing using Perplexity’s Comet technology as well.

Such a significant moment for Perplexity naturally draws parallels to Apple and its partnership with OpenAI, which has partnered with former Apple designer Jony Ive for its own hardware efforts. When I asked Shevelenko about the possibility of Perplexity making its own phone or hardware, he responded emphatically, «No.»

«We are laser-focused on working with all the best OEMs,» he said. «Our thing we’re world-class at is building accurate AI that is easy to use and delightful to use and growing that curiosity.»

And while we wait for Samsung to announce new phones, it’ll be interesting to see how Galaxy phone owners use the phone’s AI agents. Soon, people could say, «Hey Google» into their Samsung devices to prompt Gemini, or «Hey Plex» to trigger a query with Perplexity. And options are usually a good thing.

Samsung did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Continue Reading

Technologies

ADT Acquires AI Company for Sensing People and Activity in Your Home

ADT’s acquisition of Origin AI brings presence-sensing technology under the home security company’s umbrella.

ADT on Tuesday announced an interesting new acquisition for anyone looking to the future of home security — and it’s no surprise AI is a part of the story. In a $170 million deal, ADT has purchased Origin AI, which specializes in people detection in spaces like the inside of your home, something the security company is calling AI-sensing technology.

ADT has not disclosed specific plans for AI technology, but this comes at a time when concerns about corporate surveillance by companies like Ring and Flock have reached a fever pitch.

«ADT has been testing and evaluating Origin’s technology pre-acquisition,» ADT Chief Business Officer Omar Kahn told me. «In 2026, the focus is on integrating the technology into ADT’s platform, with commercialization expected to begin in 2027.»

Presence sensing doesn’t sound like the chatty, summary-creating large language models we consider AI these days, nor the person and car recognition features companies like Flock use. It’s a system that analyzes home Wi-Fi frequencies for disruptions. The AI is trained in pattern recognition to identify which disruptions indicate that humans are at home (ignoring pets) and what they may be doing.

The technology has cropped up in many spots over the past couple of years. I’ve seen it before with aging-in-place technology and Philips Hue’s newest smart bulbs, but most recently with Aqara’s sensor at CES 2026, which can detect when multiple people are congregating, standing, sitting or lying down. 

How does presence sensing affect people’s privacy?

It’s not clear how ADT will use Origin’s presence sensing in its home security systems, though the company did mention smart automation, personalization and reducing false alarms. In one example, it could automatically adjust an ADT-supported thermostat when multiple people are detected moving around a house. But that also raises privacy questions.

Presence sensing, like Origin’s tech, has certain privacy benefits. It doesn’t use cameras to film anyone or save video recordings of people, and it doesn’t create identity profiles based on someone’s face or other data. It can’t tell who is in a house, only where they are and how/when they are moving around (or not moving).

That allows for capabilities such as notifying a nursing home that a resident hasn’t gotten out of bed when they usually do, without invasive investigation. But the technology also raises privacy concerns: A company could know when people in their own home are in bed, watching TV, or sitting to eat dinner, even if it can’t identify them by name.

ADT calls features like these home awareness, but also mentions municipal compliance and coordination with first responders. That could mean giving firefighters information on how many people are in a burning building. But there are concerns. Recent news reports indicate that some local law enforcement agencies have shared information with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement for use in home and apartment raids, raising the possibility that the technology could be applied in similar contexts.

The technology’s implications may ultimately hinge on how ADT chooses to implement and regulate it. Until those details are clearer, its promise and its risks remain closely intertwined.

Continue Reading

Technologies

New York Times Debuts the Midi Crossword, Its In-Between Puzzle

Is the Mini Crossword too easy, but the original one just too time-consuming? Here’s your new puzzle.

The daily New York Times Mini Crossword can be solved in a minute or so, while the newspaper’s iconic original crossword puzzle might take hours. Now, puzzlers who want an in-between diversion can try a new puzzle from the Times, introduced this week — the Midi Crossword puzzle. (And CNET readers can get daily answers for five Times puzzles — Wordle, Connections, Strands, Connections: Sports Edition and the Mini Crossword.)

New York Times Games subscribers can play the Midi in the New York Times Games app for iOS and Android devices, or on mobile or desktop web. It’s online-only, not in the print newspaper. 

«We’re really leaning into the digital-first nature of the puzzle,» NYT Games Puzzle Editor Ian Livengood said in a Times article about the new puzzle. «About once a week, the puzzle will have a visual effect — an extra flourish when you start or after you solve. This could be a cool animation or colorful shading.»

As the name «Midi» suggests, this is a mid-sized crossword puzzle. Where the Mini Crossword usually only has 5 Across and 5 Down clues, the Midi is usually a 9-by-9 puzzle, sometimes as long as 11-by-11.

«If you feel like the Mini is not enough but the Daily is too much, this will be the perfect puzzle for you,» Livengood said.

Each Midi Crossword has a theme that hints at the topics of the clues and answers. Unlike the other puzzles, Livengood says the Midi might occasionally have two-letter words and repeating answers.

I tried the Midi Crossword

I tried Wednesday’s Midi Crossword and solved it in just over 3 minutes. That’s much longer than I spend on the Mini Crossword, but much faster than the original New York Times crossword puzzle takes me. 

I thought most of the clues were pretty simple, and the few tricky ones filled themselves in once I moved from Across to Down.

If you’re a New York Times Games subscriber, this is a nice addition to your daily puzzle stable. It tests your mind a bit more than the Mini, but you can also solve it while watching TV or waiting for someone to text you back.

Continue Reading

Trending