So here we go. We’ve got quite a long day to enjoy!
The summer solstice is an annual astronomical phenomenon that brings the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere (and the shortest night). It’s also a key cultural event in many ancient and contemporary societies. And it’s here. It began at 6:07 a.m., about 45 minutes after sunrise on the East Coast.
If you’re wondering exactly what the astronomical basis of the summer solstice is – here’s what we know.
NBC News graphic
Earth’s rotational axis — the imaginary line through our planet’s center and the geographic north and south poles — isn’t exactly at a right angle to the path of its orbit around the sun. Instead, it’s tilted at an angle of about 23.5 degrees from vertical — possibly as the result of a collision with another planet-sized object billions of years ago, when the solar system was forming.
As Earth orbits the sun over the course of each year, its axis always points at the same direction in space. That means the Northern Hemisphere is angled toward the sun for half the year and angled away for the other half. The moment when the North Pole is nearest to the sun is called the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere; the time of year when the North Pole points farthest from the sun is called the winter solstice.
Happy Solstice!! 🙂
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