Newgrange sunrise: What happens during the winter solstice and how to watch live

Everything you need to know about the astronomical phenomenon that takes place on the shortest day of the year

Newgrange, which has a stone age passage tomb that's older than the pyramids in Egypt, is located in the Boyne Valley, Co Meath.

What is the Winter Solstice?

The Winter Solstice is the period around December 21. It is an astronomical phenomenon that marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year. 

In the Northern Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice occurs when the sun shines directly over the tropic of Capricorn.

You can watch this morning's sunrise live here:

What happens during sunrise at Newgrange?

Newgrange, which has a stone age passage tomb that's older than the pyramids in Egypt, is located in the Boyne Valley, Co Meath. It features a 19m-long passage that leads into a chamber with three alcoves. 

The passage and chamber are aligned with the rising sun on the mornings around the Winter Solstice. 

Above the entrance is an opening called a roof box, through which a beam of light penetrates the roof box and travels up the length of the passage and into the chamber on the Winter Solstice. 

As the sun rises higher, the beam widens and the whole chamber is illuminated for 17 minutes.

The OPW says the solar alignment of the passage tomb at Newgrange to face the rising sun on winter solstice is a significant astronomical finding of global importance. 

Newgrange was re-discovered by Professor Michael J O’Kelly in 1967 and analysis of high-resolution imagery taken during last year’s research programme adds to a convincing body of evidence that the solar illumination was an intentional feature of the tomb.

How can I watch the sun flood the chamber?

Like last year, the OPW is live-streaming the event each morning until December 22. It can be viewed live on gov.ie/opw and heritageireland.ie.

Can the public attend at the tomb?

The sun shines along the passage floor into the inner chamber at Newgrange during the 2013 Winter Solstice. Picture: Alan Betson / The Irish Times

No, because of Covid-19 in-person attendance at the sunrise event is not permitted this year. 

Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre and the site at the Newgrange Monument d1 but not the passage tomb itself d1 are currently open to visitors through the Visitor Centre from 9am to 4pm daily. 

Members of the public have been asked not to travel directly to the site, as there will be road closures in place around Newgrange itself.

On the bright side, as the tomb's chamber is closed to the public a research project is measuring and monitoring the movement of the winter sunlight through the roof box into the passage and chamber to determine how the beam of dawn light interplays with the chamber during and past the Solstice.

Does it only happen on one morning every year?

No. While the Solstice peaks on December 21, the chamber is illuminated by the rising sun for a few days around that date. The phenomenon is available to view on a  number of mornings during this period.