{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.solstice","code":"thing-q123524","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q123524/","name":"solstice","alternateNames":["Mars southern solstice","winter solstice","December solstice","June solstice","summer solstice","Blue Christmas"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.3","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Cross-cutting context","entryKind":"thing","plane":"XCT","domain":["XCT.QLT"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"The moment twice a year when the Sun reaches its greatest northern or southern declination, giving the longest day at the June solstice and the shortest at the December solstice in the northern hemisphere and the reverse in the southern, marking astronomical summer and winter, caused by the tilt of the Earth axis; solstices occur on other planets such as Mars, are celebrated in festivals from Stonehenge gatherings to Yule and Dongzhi, and are used as calendar and cultural markers.","purpose":"Let an agent explain solstices and their astronomical cause, relay dates and variations, describe cultural observances with attribution, and distinguish solstices from equinoxes and from meteorological seasons.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Extreme day length","Axial tilt cause","Hemisphere reversal","Cultural festivals"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What a solstice is.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition and cause.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What is a solstice, and how does axial tilt cause it?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about a solstice, an equinox or a meteorological season?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"dates","name":"Dates","description":"Dates and timing.","findings":[{"id":"dates-finding","name":"Dates","description":"Dates.","questions":[{"text":"When do the solstices occur, and why do the dates vary?","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific solstice?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"observe","name":"Observe","description":"Observation.","layers":[{"id":"sky","name":"Sky","description":"Sun path and daylight.","findings":[{"id":"sky-finding","name":"Sky","description":"Sky.","questions":[{"text":"How do the Sun path, sunrise points and daylight hours change at the solstices by latitude?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits daylight?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"planets","name":"Planets","description":"Solstices on other planets.","findings":[{"id":"planets-finding","name":"Planets","description":"Planets.","questions":[{"text":"How do solstices work on Mars and other planets?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"culture","name":"Culture","description":"Culture and festivals.","layers":[{"id":"festivals","name":"Festivals","description":"Festivals.","findings":[{"id":"festivals-finding","name":"Festivals","description":"Festivals.","questions":[{"text":"What solstice festivals exist, from midsummer and Yule to Dongzhi and Inti Raymi, with attribution?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific festival?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"monuments","name":"Monuments","description":"Ancient alignments.","findings":[{"id":"monuments-finding","name":"Monuments","description":"Monuments.","questions":[{"text":"What monuments align with the solstices, and what do archaeologists say about them?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"History and calendars.","layers":[{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History of understanding.","findings":[{"id":"history-finding","name":"History","description":"History.","questions":[{"text":"How did ancient astronomers determine the solstices?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the history of astronomy?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"calendars","name":"Calendars","description":"Calendars.","findings":[{"id":"calendars-finding","name":"Calendars","description":"Calendars.","questions":[{"text":"How do calendars and season definitions use the solstices?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits season?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Compute solstice times for a location and explain the astronomy.","Use solstice dates for calendars, daylight planning and solar modelling."],"mustNot":["Confuse the solstice instant with a whole day or with the seasonal temperature extremes.","Attach astrological predictions to a solstice and present them as science.","Misrepresent the solstice festivals of a culture or appropriate their rituals commercially."],"requiresHuman":["Publishing content about ceremonies at sacred solstice sites."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Solstice observances are sacred in many traditions, including Indigenous ones.","Pseudoscience attached to astronomical events misleads the public."],"affectedParties":["Communities with solstice traditions","Visitors to heritage sites","The public"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody owns an astronomical event; national observatories publish the times.","roles":[],"masterSystems":["National almanacs and ephemerides"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q11483816","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q751989","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q845060","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"astronomical phenomenon","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"annual event","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"maxima and minima","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"equinox","type":"related","note":"the midpoint events"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.solstice","Wikidata: Q123524 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q123524)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":["axial tilt of Earth: 23.44 degrees","June solstice date: 20-22 June","December solstice date: 20-23 December"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Sun at maximum declination","June and December solstices, summer and winter solstices, Martian solstices","Equinoxes are when day and night are equal; meteorological seasons use calendar months","Not a visible object; the Sun at its extreme rising and setting points."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain the astronomy","relay dates and variations","describe cultural observances","distinguish from equinoxes"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Confusing solstice with equinox","Assuming the solstice is the hottest or coldest day","Wrong dates by hemisphere"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["No regulation; astronomical almanacs define the times"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Not applicable; an astronomical event.","June solstice","December solstice","summer and winter solstices by hemisphere","solstices on other planets such as Mars","solstice observances such as Yule, Dongzhi, Inti Raymi and midsummer","Blue Christmas services near the December solstice"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q123524: solstice","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q123524","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Solstice","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solstice","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should June and December solstices be separate entries?","How should almanac sources be linked?","The registry entry has merged aliases naming observances and planetary events; should they be split off?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q123524/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q123524/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-13T01:37:50Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:51:53+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane XCT: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}