The changing seasons were traditionally marked by the summer and winter solstices. In this post we discus the Summer Solstice 2024, and why its reason. Today’s meteorologists use temperature records to draw the lines between seasons. What are solstices? And how have they been celebrated through history? That’s all you need to know. For the Northern Hemisphere, the summer solstice is the day with the longest daylight and shortest night of the year, when the Sun reaches its highest position in the sky. In 2024, the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere falls on Thursday, June 20th at 4:50 pm EDT in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, USA. In the Southern Hemisphere, the summer solstice occurs in December, with the next one on Thursday, December 21st, 2023 at 10:27 pm EST in the same location.🌞🌎
The difference between the astronomical seasons.
An astronomical alignment signals the start of this season once a year. The summer solstice, which is also celebrated around the globe and shrouded by myth, is celebrated all over the globe and happy summer solstice
What is Summer Solstice?
Solstices are caused by Earth’s axis tilt of 23.4 degrees relative to Earth’s orbit around it. This tilt is responsible for the seasons on our planet. The Northern and Southern Hemispheres receive different amounts of sunlight each year. The Northern Hemisphere tilts more towards the sun from March to September, which drives its spring and summer. The Northern Hemisphere’s tilt is so that it feels like winter and autumn from September to March. Climate changes in the Southern Hemisphere.
Earth’s axis tilts toward the sun for two seconds each year, which are known as solstices. The longest day is seen by the hemisphere that tilts toward the sun, and the longest night by the hemisphere that tilts away from it. The Southern Hemisphere experiences its winter solstice during the Northern Hemisphere’s summer solstice, which always falls around June 21 is summer solstice date. The Southern Hemisphere also gets its winter solstice during the Northern Hemisphere’s winter solstice, which always falls around Dec 22.
Sunset on Summer Solstice 2024
Solstices can also be described as the location where the sun appears on Earth. The sun will appear directly above the Tropic of Cancer when it is the summer solstice. This is the latitude of 23.5 degrees North. This is the furthest north you can get and still see directly above the sun. The sun rises directly above the Tropic of Capricorn during the Northern Hemisphere winter solstice. This is the Tropic of Cancer’s southern mirror image.
Earth isn’t the only planet that has solstices or equinoxes. Any planet with a tilted axis would also have them. Actually, planetary scientists use solstices to determine “seasons” on other planets in the solar system.
Which planet is most similar to Earth
For a number of reasons, it is important to note that the seasons on other planets are not as climatically comparable as those on Earth. The first is that the tilts of planets can vary. Venus’s axis tilt is only three degrees tilted, which means there’s less seasonal variation between the Venusian winter and Summer Solstices Astronomy than on Earth. Additionally, Mars and other planets have a smaller circular orbit than Earth’s. This means their distances to the sun vary more than Earth’s. This has a correspondingly greater effect on seasonal temperature.
Earth’s axial tilt is more important than its close-circular orbit when it comes to governing the annual seasons. The closest Earth approaches the sun every year is two weeks after its December solstice during the Northern Hemisphere winter. The Northern Hemisphere’s summer sees Earth at its farthest distance from the sun approximately two weeks after the June solstice.
Summer Solstice History
On June 21, 2005, people watched the midsummer sun rise over Stonehenge, a megalithic monument on Salisbury Plain. To celebrate the longest day in the Northern Hemisphere’s year, the summer solstice was celebrated by crowds at the stone circle.
Cultures around the globe have been celebrating and reverent these celestial events for millennia. They’ve built structures to align with the solstice or held raucous celebrations in their honor. Summer Solstice Rituals are the important roleplay in the whole summer season.
Although the purpose of the mysterious English structure Stonehenge is not known, the monument that dates back 5,000 years has a special relationship with the solstices. The Heel Stone of the complex, located outside Stonehenge’s main circle, aligns with the rising sun on the summer solstice.
The Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt appear to align with the sun. The sun sets between the pyramids Khufu & Khafre at the summer solstice, as seen from the Sphinx. However, it is not clear how ancient Egyptians did it.
Summer Solstice Celebration 2024
Many cultures have created unique ways to celebrate the summer solstice. The traditional Scandinavian holiday Midsummer celebrates the solstice with maypole dancing and drinking. People wear flowers and dance around bonfires during the Slavic holiday of Ivan Kupala. Some lucky souls also jump over the fires to ensure good luck and good health. A more recent tradition is that Fairbanks, Alaskans celebrate the fact they have up to 22.5 hours of sunlight each summer by playing nighttime baseball. Since 1906, the Midnight Sun Game is played.
There have been many celebrations of the winter solstice. The Inca Empire celebrated Inti Raymi on June 24, just in time for the Southern Hemisphere winter solstice. This festival honored Inti, the Inca religion’s powerful sun god, and marked the Inca’s new year. Inti Raymi is still celebrated in the Andes. Since 1944, reconstruction has been held in Cusco, Peru. It is less than two miles from the Inca Empire’s home. The winter solstice was celebrated by the ancient Romans with Saturnalia. This seven-day festival involved lighting candles, giving gifts, and decorating homes with plants. In December, Iranians celebrate Yalda. The festival–a mainstay since Zoroastrianism was Iran’s dominant religion–traditionally honors the birth of Mithra, the ancient Persian goddess of light.
Myths about the Solstices
Why don’t temperatures reflect solstices, which mark the brightest and darkest days of each year?
It’s simply because Earth’s water and land take time to heat up and cool off. The U.S. saw its coldest temperatures in January after-mid January, approximately a month after the Northern Hemisphere winter solstice. The U.S. thermometers reached their highest in July and August, weeks after the summer solstice.
Many believe that the Earth’s orbit is slowing down and each solstice sets new records for daytime length. However, this is not true.
When is the Summer Solstice
The summer solstice begins in 2005 and continues to this day, and the reasons for it are beginning to emerge. It is true that Earth’s orbit has slowed down over billions of years as it loses angular momentum to its planet’s tides. The growth lines of fossil corals indicate that days on Earth were less than 22 hours more than a 400million years ago.
See Also: Choose best business Ideas
The Earth’s slowing down is not the only factor. Imagine a figure skater doing a twirling dance on their skates. They can adjust the speed and direction of their moves by how they move their legs. Similar to how changes in Earth’s mass can subtly alter our planet’s rotation speed, from El Nino winds to melting Greenland’s Ice – this is also true.
All this being said, it is believed that 1912 was the longest day since the 1830s. It lasted for less than four seconds longer than the average.