The Summer Solstice which embarks on the longest day of the year and the start of the Summer season is officially here. It’s also known by the name Estival Solstice or Midsummer.
The first day of summer began with the solstice on Wednesday, 21st June 2023 stamping the astronomical first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. So now, what is Summer Solstice, and how it’s the longest day of the year? Let’s find out.
The season of Summer and Winter are usually determined by the direction of the earth’s axis. So when the axis of the earth points towards the sun, it’s called the summer season for that hemisphere whereas when the earth’s axis points away from the sun, it results in the winter season for that hemisphere.
Summer Solstice
The summer solstice usually occurs during the hemisphere’s summer. It’s also known as the day with the longest period of sunlight or the longest day of the year. The solstice is divided into two – summer solstice and winter solstice.
Solstice happens twice a year, once in Northern Hemisphere and once in Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, it’s called June Solstice, which usually occurs between June 20 to June 22 and in the Southern Hemisphere it’s called December Solstice and it usually occurs between December 20 to December 22.
The summer solstice can not be on the same date every year, just because the Georgian calendar we prefer doesn’t exactly match the astronomical calendar, which results in losing a bit of time every year. Also, we add another day, once every four years which is called the Leap Day. So solstice is usually within a range of days
In some parts of the earth, especially Europe traditionally summer solstice is seen as the middle of the summer and is therefore referred to as the “midsummer“. But in other parts of the earth majorly it’s seen as the first day of summer. Here’s a small video attached depicting the process of Summer Solstice.
When the earth moves on its axis, different places of the earth get more or less amount of sunlight. It’s because our planet travels around the sun at different time intervals of the year.
When the axis of the earth points towards the sun it’s called summer for that hemisphere and when the axis of the earth points away from the sun it’s called winter for that hemisphere.
So summer solstice is the longest day of the year because the Northern Hemisphere of the earth has tilted as close as it can towards the sun, thus giving the maximum amount of sunlight for that day of the year.
And if talk about the number of daylight hours we can get on the longest day of the year, then it can vary differently from place to place. But precisely, most of the United States will see around 14 to 16 hours of sunlight and it can be for longer periods if the city is farther away from the equator.
According to NOAA Solar Calculator and the ALMANAC Sunrise and Sunset Calculator, some cities in Florida can get 13 hours and 45 minutes of daylight, Tallahassee can get 14 hours and 7 minutes of daylight and people in New York can get around 15 hours of daylight.
Other than this Anchorage, Alaska is expected to get 19 hours and 22 minutes of daylight. You can calculate the amount of sunlight you will get in your city from the calculator links given above.
Frequently Asked Questions
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The season of summer usually lasts between the months of June and September. And now as the summer solstice begins, NASA scientists believe that a busy period of solar events including eclipse and other phenomena are scheduled to take place in the near future.
And one of them will be an Annular Solar Eclipse which is about to take place on October 14, 2023. It is expected to be visible in various parts of the United States, Mexico, and many other countries of South and Central America. For detailed information, you can Click Here.
There will be another second eclipse within the next 12 months, and it’s scheduled to take place on April 8, 2024.