The First Official Day of Summer!

I’m sure at this point, everyone is out of school for the summer. But we’ve all heard of that particular day in June, the Summer Solstice, that marks the first official day of summer. The summer solstice is a really cool concept because not only is there a ton of science behind it, but there is also a lot of history and superstition associated with it. Today, June 20 2008 at 23:59 (that’s 11:59 tonight) will mark the first day of summer.

First, some background information. Earth orbits around the sun in an ellipse, which is an oval shape. To go around the sun once, it takes the Earth about 365 days, or one year. The Earth itself is divided into sections with imaginary lines. The axis is the imaginary line that goes from the North Pole to the South Pole. Along with revolving around the sun, the Earth is also rotation, or spinning, around on its axis. To complete a full spin takes about 24 hours, or one day. One very important thing to remember is that the Earth is tilted on its axis. There is also an imaginary line that goes around the Earth called the equator, which divides it in half. These pieces are called hemispheres. The top half is known as the Northern Hemisphere, and the bottom half is known as the Southern Hemisphere.

Okay, that’s all very interesting, but what does it have to do with the solstice? Well, the solstices, along with the equinoxes, occur because the Earth is at a particular spot in its orbit around the sun. There are 2 solstices that occur during the year, and 2 equinoxes. There is the Summer Solstice and the Winter Solstice, and the Vernal Equinox and the Autumnal Equinox. All four of these occurrences have to do with how much direct sunlight is pointing at the Earth at the given time. (Check out the diagram below---it might help to have a visual!)



When the Earth is in its Summer Solstice, the way the Earth is tilted on its axis is making the Northern Hemisphere the closest point to the sun, which has the Sun’s rays pointing directly at it. This also allows for more daylight hours, therefore making it the longest day of the year. The Winter Solstice is the exact opposite of this. It occurs in late December, and because the Northern Hemisphere is pointed away from the Sun and away from the direct rays. It is the shortest day of the year. The Autumnal Equinox happens in the Fall. The position the Earth is in allows for sunlight to fall directly on the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, and daylight and nighttime hours are equal. This is exactly what happens with the Vernal Equinox, only it occurs during the springtime.

For thousands upon thousands of years, religions have been intrigued by the Solstices. For that reason, the Solstice has so many mystical elements to it. Due to it’s universal intrigue, it has acquired many names throughout history. All throughout history, a bunch of different religions have have had holidays and days of ritual on the day of the Solstice. Personally, I find the Solstices especially interesting. You often see a lot of controversy between science and religion, and I think it's really cool to see that both of them find a sort of common ground in their fascination with the Solstices and the Equinoxes.




For more information, check out:

Summer Solstice 2008: Fun Facts, History, Rituals and Celebrations

About.com: Overview of the Summer Solstice


Happy Summer, guys! Keep checking back for more updates, and remember, as always, to think, explore, learn!

~Sara