SAN LUIS POTOSÍ, Mexico.- The summer solstice, soon to happen, announces the beginning of the astronomical summer in the northern hemisphere and marks the day with the most light of the year.
According to NASA, the summer solstice marks the moment when the Sun reaches its northernmost point, 23.5 degrees from the celestial equator. This point on Earth is known as the Tropic of Cancer.
The word solstice means “still sun” and comes from the combination of Latin words solwhich means “sun,” and statuswhich means “stay still.”
At the North Pole, the sun does not set on the summer solstice. Exactly the opposite occurs in the southern hemisphere, which experiences its winter solstice on the same day; At the South Pole, the sun does not rise.
In 2024 the summer solstice will occur on June 20 at 4:50 p.m. That day there will be more hours of sunlight the further north you are in the northern hemisphere. Residents of this area may notice that the sun will be very high in the sky at noon.
On the equinoxes – the two days of the year when both hemispheres experience the same amount of daylight and nighttime light – the sun appears directly overhead, 90 degrees above the equator, at noon.
But on the northern summer solstice, the midday sun appears at a higher latitude: over the Tropic of Cancer, located about 23.5 degrees north of the equator and passing through Algeria, Niger, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, China, Taiwan, Mexico, Bahamas, Mauritania and Mali.
The Tropic of Cancer is the northernmost latitude where the sun can appear high at noon, according to the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System, a project based at the University of Hawaii.
Each year, the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere falls on June 20 or 21. In the southern hemisphere, the summer solstice occurs on December 21 or 22.
Throughout 2024 there will be two equinoxes, as happens every year. The first, which occurred in March, marked the arrival of spring in the northern hemisphere and autumn in the south, while the second in September begins the opposite seasons.
Also in June, the “strawberry moon” will be visible, known for marking the harvest season for this wild fruit. By July 21, the “deer moon” will coincide with the growth of that species’ antlers.
In addition, at the end of July more meteorites will rain with the Delta Aquarids, while the Perseids, active since mid-July, will have their peak from August 12 to 13, coming from the debris of Comet Swift-Tuttle.
Follow our channel WhatsApp. Receive information from CubaNet on your cell phone through Telegram.
2024-06-21 08:42:44
#summer #solstice #approaching