It’s the same every year – or almost – on the same date. The June solstice marks the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. However, there are definitely things you may not know about this phenomenon…
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In weeks, most of the time invisible, the sun has resumed its quarter. Today, here it is. We, in the Northern Hemisphere, have the longest day of the year. Astronomers call it the summer solstice. This marks the start of their summer season – as meteorologist season begins on the 1stR June every year. But everyone knows that.
The date of the summer solstice varies from year to year
What we know a little less is that the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere does not always fall on June 21. The effect of small variations in the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. But the structure of our calendar, with its leap years.
In XXe Over the century, the summer solstice has occurred 64 times on June 21 and 36 times on June 22. About XXIe century, predictions call for 47 summer solstices on June 20 and 53 on June 21. As it falls on June 19, it is necessary to be patient. This will not happen until 2488.
This year, the summer solstice, so the moment when the sun reaches its highest point (not zenith) in the sky, will occur more precisely this Wednesday, June 21 at 4:57pm as far as France is concerned.
The day when the sun stands still
Another thing we probably don’t know is the origin of the word solstice. It takes place from 13the century We got it from Latin the ground to the sun and Stare Stop. Because we must remember that our ancestors did not know why the day star rose and fell in the sky during the year. They thought good was bad. So when they saw him climbing, they believed that his running would stop. It will eventually descend and herald the beginning of harvest season. That is, science tells us what it will continue to do for billions of years. During the solstice…
A day when Earth occupies a special place in its orbit
Another thing is not only generally ignored, but seems completely counter-intuitive to those living in the Northern Hemisphere: the summer solstice corresponds to the day when the Earth, in its orbit, is almost at its aphelion, that is, farthest from our Sun! About 152 million kilometers. If this day marks the beginning of summer, it has nothing to do with our planet’s position in space, but more with the tilt of its orbit. and directed a northern hemisphere “face” Under the sun.
A solstice day is not always very long
During the summer solstice, Parisians can enjoy sunlight around 4:10 p.m. It is undoubtedly the longest day of the year. But its length may vary from year to year. Variation in mass distribution at Earth’s surface. As a result, scientists estimate that the longest day since the 1830s must have occurred on the summer solstice of 1912. It’s hard to understand because it doesn’t last more than 4 milliseconds on average.
An average that does not take into account the special case of areas located at high latitudes. In fact, in the Arctic Circle, the day of the solstice is the midnight sun. A 24-hour day. On the side of the North Pole, on that day, the Sun actually settles in the sky at about 23°.
The summer solstice is a day of celebration
Finally, this date of the summer solstice is so special that since the dawn of time, traditions have been celebrated around the world. Regardless of cultures and religions. The celebrations were originally pagan. We celebrated the harvest. Later some religions made it a festival of light. It is the symbol of the feast of St. John.
Even today, many people celebrate this day, dancing in the woods, sometimes dressing up in outrageous costumes, lighting bonfires or… celebrating music!
