WHEN IS THIS YEAR’S SUMMER SOLSTICE?
Summer officially begins this year on the summer solstice: June 21st..
In the Northern Hemisphere, the longest day of the year and the shortest night of the year is when the Sun is farthest north, marking the beginning of summer. As one Australian participant noted ‘we’ll be celebrating on the shortest day of the year, but the longest night to party!’
Solstice comes from the Latin (sol, sun; sistit, stands). At the solstices, the sun's apparent position on the celestial sphere reaches its greatest distance above or below the celestial equator, about 23 1/2° of arc. The summer solstice marks the first day of the season of summer. The declination of the Sun on the (northern) summer solstice is known as the Tropic of Cancer (23° 27'). The summer solstice is the longest day of the year, respectively, in the sense that the length of time elapsed between sunrise and sunset on this day is a maximum for the year.
At winter solstice, about December 22, the sun is overhead at noon at the Tropic of Capricorn; this marks the beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, winter and summer solstices are exchanged.
For several days before and after each solstice, the sun appears to stand still in the sky - that is, its noontime elevation does not seem to change from day to day.
