This effect is called the lag of the seasons. If the June solstice brings the longest day, why do we experience the hottest weather in late July and August? Why doesn’t the longest day have the hottest weather? If you stood at the Sphinx on the summer solstice and gazed toward the two pyramids, you’d see the sun set exactly between them. Around the same time Stonehenge was being constructed in England, two great pyramids and then the Sphinx were built on Egyptian sands. But we do know that knowledge of this sort wasn’t limited to just one part of the world. We may never comprehend the full significance of Stonehenge. Some 5,000 years ago, people placed huge stones in a circle on a broad plain in what’s now England and aligned them with the June solstice sunrise. It has been universal among humans to treasure this time of warmth and light.įor us in the modern world, the solstice is a time to recall the reverence and understanding that early people had for the sky. There’s nothing official about it, but it’s such a long-held tradition that we all recognize it to be so. Yet June 21 is perhaps the most widely recognized day upon which summer begins in the Northern Hemisphere and upon which winter begins on the southern half of Earth’s globe. And every schoolchild knows that summer starts when the last school bell of the year rings. In meteorology, for example, summer begins on June 1. No world body has designated an official day to start each new season, and different schools of thought or traditions define the seasons in different ways. Is the June solstice the first day of summer? Solstice sunset via EarthSky Facebook friend Lucy Bee in Dallas, Texas. ![]() If you’re a person who’s tuned in to the out-of-doors, you know the peaceful, comforting feeling that accompanies these signs and signals of the year’s longest day. Around the time of the solstice, it’s your shortest noontime shadow of the year. And, also be sure to look at your noontime shadow. You might see how high the sun appears in the sky at local noon. If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, you might notice the early dawns and late sunsets, and the high arc of the sun across the sky each day. After all, the sun is the ultimate source of almost all light and warmth on Earth’s surface. Where should I look for signs of the June solstice in nature?įor all of Earth’s creatures, nothing is so fundamental as the length of the day. Read more about summer solstice at Stonehenge in 2022. Image via Wikimedia Commons/ Andrew Dunn. Waiting for dawn to arrive at Stonehenge, summer solstice 2005. ![]() In fact, our planet is closest to the sun in January, during the the Northern Hemisphere’s winter. Through the year, this tilt causes Earth’s Northern and Southern Hemispheres to trade places in receiving the sun’s light and warmth most directly. Instead, our world is tilted on its axis by 23 1/2 degrees. ![]() Today, we know that the solstice is an astronomical event, caused by Earth’s tilt on its axis and by its orbital motion around the sun. In fact, they built monuments such as Stonehenge in England and at Machu Picchu in Peru to follow the sun’s yearly progress. What is a solstice?Īncient cultures knew that the sun’s path across the sky, the length of daylight, and the location of the sunrise and sunset all shifted in a regular way throughout the year. Read more about the animation via John Nelson. John Nelson created this animation, using images from the NASA Visible Earth team. It’s a year of seasonal transformations on our planet, including the June solstice. After this solstice, the sun will be moving southward in the sky again. For the Southern Hemisphere, it marks the longest nights and shortest days. For us in the Northern Hemisphere, the June solstice marks the shortest nights and longest days of the year. Note: On this solstice, the sun will be directly overhead at noon as viewed from the Tropic of Cancer. When is the next one? The next June solstice will fall on at 14:58 UTC (9:58 a.m. What is it? The June solstice marks the sun’s northernmost point in our sky for this year. ![]() The sun rises farthest north on the horizon – and is highest in the sky at local noon – at the summer solstice. Read more about these images, which are via Robert Simmon (Sigma Space Corporation)/ NASA. From left to right, a June solstice, a September equinox, a December solstice, a March equinox. Satellite views of Earth on the solstices and equinoxes.
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