June Solstice 2019
Happy solstice, everyone!
The beginning of summer for the Northern Hemisphere, known as the Summer Solstice, occurs on June 21 at 11:54 am Eastern Daylight Time. Being the longest day of the year for anyone living north of the equator, solstice will bring more hours of sunlight this Friday because the Sun reaches its highest position in the sky.
At that moment, the northern end of Earth’s axis of rotation will be tilted 23.5° towards the sun. As a result, the Sun will reach its highest noonday position in our sky for the year. Sunlight will shine more intensely on the Northern Hemisphere, and deliver our longest amount of daylight. More hours of concentrated, direct sunlight translates to more solar energy and warmer days.
For our friends in the southern hemisphere, this solstice signals the sun’s lowest noon-time height for the year, and marks the start of their winter. The summer solstice is good news for astronomers - after Friday, the days will slowly start to get shorter while the nights lengthen.
Did you know that ...
• The summer solstice has been celebrated in many countries all over the world for hundreds of years. In some European countries it is also known as Midsummer holiday, which traditionally include such rituals as the lighting of the bonfires and jumping over it.
• In ancient Egypt the summer solstice was the most important day of the year. It represented the appearance of the brightest star, Sirius, which the Egyptians believed was responsible for the annual flooding of the Nile River. That is why they considered this time with the start of a new year.
• According to the legend, Galileo was forced to recant his astronomical theories that the Earth revolves around the Sun at the time of the Summer Solstice of 1633. And even though he was sentenced to spend the rest of his life under house arrest.
Using Star Walk 2 app you can find live position of the Sun, Moon and other celestial objects according to your current location. Keep up our news and and enjoy the beauty of the night sky!
