Summer Solstice 2019 meaning: 8 amazing facts about longest day of the year
SUMMER SOLSTICE is here, meaning people in the Northern Hemisphere will experience the longest day of the year today. Here are eight amazing facts about the summer solstice.
Summer Solstice: Stunning time lapse from Stonehenge
The 2019 summer solstice falls on June 21 this year and will see people in the Northern Hemisphere experience the longest day of the year. Thousands of people gathered at Stonehenge this morning for the annual celebration as the sun rose. The summer solstice, also known as midsummer, happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere.
Eight amazing facts about longest day of the year
1. The name “solstice” comes from the fact that the Sun appears to stand still.
The term is derived from the Latin words sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still).
It appears that way because the Sun's relative position in the sky at noon does not appear to change much during the solstice and its surrounding days.
READ MORE: Summer solstice 2019: Difference between a solstice and an equinox
2. Earth is not the only planet with solstices
Any planet with a tilted rotational axis would have solstices.
In fact, solstices, as well as equinoxes are what scientists use to define seasons for other planets in our solar system.
READ MORE: Summer Solstice 2019 pictures: Gorgeous photos of sunrise
3. Solstices help mark the changing of seasons
Traditionally solstices have helped mark the changing of the seasons.
Although today’s meteorologists officially use temperature records, the summer solstice is still viewed as the “official start to summer”.
4. Pagans celebrate the solstice with symbols of fire and water
In Paganisms and Wicca, the summer solstice is celebrated with a festival known as Litha.
5. The world’s largest bonfire was part of a solstice celebration
In Scandinavia, summer solstice, known as Sankthans or Midsummer, is celebrated on June 24.
In 2016, a bonfire in Ålesund, Norway, set a world record for the tallest bonfire with their 155.5-foot bonfire.
6. The earth is farthest from the Sun during solstice
The Earth is actually farthest away from the Sun during the summer solstice, although it may appear to be the other way around.
7. Stonehenge has a special relationship with the solstices
On the summer solstice, Stonehenge’s Heel Stone, which stands outside the ancient complex’ main circle lines up with the rising sun.
Approximately 10,000 gather to watch the sunrise during summer solstice there every year.
8. Summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere is winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere
In the Southern Hemisphere, people will experience the shortest day of the year today.