You might see how high the sun appears in the sky at local noon. If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, you might notice the early dawns and late sunsets, and the high arc of the sun across the sky each day. After all, the sun is the ultimate source of almost all light and warmth on Earth’s surface. Where should I look for signs of the June solstice in nature?įor all of Earth’s creatures, nothing is so fundamental as the length of the day. Read more about summer solstice at Stonehenge in 2022. Image via Wikimedia Commons/ Andrew Dunn. Waiting for dawn to arrive at Stonehenge, summer solstice 2005. In fact, our planet is closest to the sun in January, during the the Northern Hemisphere’s winter. Through the year, this tilt causes Earth’s Northern and Southern Hemispheres to trade places in receiving the sun’s light and warmth most directly. Instead, our world is tilted on its axis by 23 1/2 degrees. Today, we know that the solstice is an astronomical event, caused by Earth’s tilt on its axis and by its orbital motion around the sun. In fact, they built monuments such as Stonehenge in England and at Machu Picchu in Peru to follow the sun’s yearly progress. What is a solstice?Īncient cultures knew that the sun’s path across the sky, the length of daylight, and the location of the sunrise and sunset all shifted in a regular way throughout the year. Read more about the animation via John Nelson. John Nelson created this animation, using images from the NASA Visible Earth team. It’s a year of seasonal transformations on our planet, including the June solstice. After this solstice, the sun will be moving southward in the sky again. For the Southern Hemisphere, it marks the longest nights and shortest days. For us in the Northern Hemisphere, the June solstice marks the shortest nights and longest days of the year. Note: On this solstice, the sun will be directly overhead at noon as viewed from the Tropic of Cancer. When is the next one? The next June solstice will fall on at 9:14 UTC (4:14 a.m. What is it? The June solstice marks the sun’s northernmost point in our sky for this year.
The sun rises farthest north on the horizon – and is highest in the sky at local noon – at the summer solstice. Read more about these images, which are via Robert Simmon (Sigma Space Corporation)/ NASA. From left to right, a June solstice, a September equinox, a December solstice, a March equinox. Satellite views of Earth on the solstices and equinoxes.
0 kommentar(er)
