The winter solstice is Saturday, bringing the shortest day and longest night of the year to the Northern Hemisphere. The good news for those who like more sunshine is that starting Sunday, days will get a little bit longer every single day until late June. As the Earth travels around the sun, it does so at an angle. For most of the year, the Earth’s axis is tilted either toward or away from the sun. That means the sun’s warmth and light fall unequally on the northern and southern halves of the planet.