Summer solstice 2017 in Northern Hemisphere was at 12:24 AM on Wednesday, June 21, 2017
All times are in Eastern Time.
~SUMMER SOLSTICE~
The summer solstice (or estival solstice), also known as midsummer, occurs when a planet’s rotational axis, or geographic pole on either its northern or its southern hemisphere, is most inclined toward the star that it orbits.
On the summer solstice, Earth’s maximum axial tilt toward the Sun is 23.44°. This happens twice each year (once in each hemisphere), when the Sun reaches its highest position in the sky as seen from the north or south pole.
The winter solstice will fall in the early morning hours of Dec. 21-22, marking the first day of winter and the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
The astronomical event also means it’ll be the longest day of the year for those who live south of the equator.
The solstice starts at 4:48 a.m. UTC on Dec. 22 (which is 11:48 p.m. ET on Dec. 21), the moment when the Northern Hemisphere is pointed at its farthest distance from the sun.
What is it?
The 23.5 degree tilt in Earth’s axis of rotation creates a rise and fall appearance of the sun over the course of a year. During the winter solstice, the Northern Hemisphere is pointed at its furthest distance from the sun, bringing less light and colder temperatures. The winter solstice occurs at a specific time, not just day. This year, at 12:11 p.m. EST on Saturday, Dec. 21, the sun shone directly over the Tropic of Capricorn, the farthest south the sun reaches. In the Southern Hemisphere, it was the longest day of the year.
So then what happens? After the solstice occurs, days grow longer for north of the equator, as the sun appears farther above the horizon. This movement culminates in the longest day of the year on June 21.
Is it related to Christmas?
Sort of. There’s no date in the Bible specifically pointing to Dec. 25 as the birth of Jesus Christ, so some experts believe the Christian church selected the date several centuries later, tying it to the Roman holiday Dies Natalis Solis Invictus, or the Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun. The winter solstice serves a turning point in many cultures, which is why it was tied to the Mayan apocalypse scare that marked the end of the calendar and to some believers, the end of the world.
Just how short is the day?
North America will only see nine hours and 32 minutes of daylight during the solstice, and 14 hours and 28 minutes of nighttime. But the winter solstice doesn’t always happen at the same time. Next year northern dwellers can brace for the solstice at 11:03 p.m. In 2015 it will occur on Dec. 22.
What are other important dates for the sun?
The summer solstice occurs on June 21, the longest day of the year in the north. On March 21 and Sept. 21, Earth’s equator passes the center of the sun, which are known as “equinoxes.” These two dates mark the point at which hours of day and night are nearly equal.
a time of balancing – completing old business and welcoming in the New
Why Google has given the shortest day of the year a doodle?
Google has marked the shortest day of the year with an animated Doodle on its homepage.
The Doodle depicts a cartoon Father Christmas helping two children to build a snowman before the children’s mother appears and produces a carrot from her shopping bag to use as the snowman’s nose.
The winter solstice occurs when the sun’s daily maximum elevation in the sky is at its lowest and the North Pole is tilted furthest away from the sun. This results in the least number of daylight hours and the longest night of the year. This astronomical phenomenon occurs in December in the Northern Hemisphere and in June in the Southern Hemisphere.
The event has been marked by many cultures throughout history with festivals, rituals, celebrations and the mating of animals, and even today people gather at Stonehenge to watch the sunrise and sunset. The ancient stones are carefully aligned on a sight-line that points to the winter solstice sunset, and it is thought that this event was actually more important to those who constructed the site than the summer equivalent.
It Is What It Is 