Stonehenge, a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, England. The entire monument, now in ruins, is aligned towards the sunrise of the summer solstice.
This Thursday, June 20th, marks the Summer Solstice, the longest day and least darkness of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Moreover, this year's summer solstice is the earliest in 228 years.
The summer solstice, also known as midsummer or the festive solstice, is an astronomical phenomenon that occurs simultaneously everywhere on Earth when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted closest to the sun.
The last time the summer solstice was on June 20 was in 1796. The US president at the time was George Washington.
The 2024 winter solstice will occur at 4:50 PM EDT in the continental United States, when the Sun will be directly above the Tropic of Cancer and Earth's maximum axial tilt toward the Sun will be 23.44°.
3:50 PM CDT, 2:50 PM (MST), 1:50 PM (PDT) in other time zones, 9:50 PM (BST) in the UK, and 10 PM in Austria, Germany and other regions. Displayed at 50:00. A country located in the Central European Time Zone.
Depending on calendar adjustments, such as leap years, the summer solstice occurs annually between June 20 and June 22 in the Northern Hemisphere and between December 20 and December 23 in the Southern Hemisphere. The summer solstice will occur approximately 40 to 50 minutes earlier. Until the next century than usual.
The summer solstice is not the day when the sun rises earliest or sets latest, but it is the day with the longest day.
On Wednesday, there are 16 hours and 38 minutes of daylight in London, England, and 15 hours and 6 minutes in New York City.
In the United States and many other countries in the Northern Hemisphere, Summer Solstice marks the first day of summer. However, meteorological summer begins on the first day of the month containing the equinox and solstice, by meteorological definition, so summer begins on June 1.
As is custom, crowds of people will gather at Stonehenge in southern England on Wednesday. Stonehenge is believed to have been built to commemorate celestial events such as the winter solstice and the spring equinox.
(Photo = Acura Media Group)