Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Summer Solstice

It is the first day of Summer ~ SUMMER SOLSTICE!
Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year.  The sun reaches its most northern point in the local sky at noon.
The word solstice is from the Latin solstitium from sol (sun) and stitium (to stop), reflecting the fact that the sun appears to stop at this time (and again at the winter solstice).
In temperate regions, we notice that the sun is higher in the sky throughout the day, and its rays strike Earth at a more direct angle, causing the efficient warming we call summer.
In the winter, just the opposite occurs:  the sun is at its southernmost point and is low in the sky.  Its rays hit the Northern Hemisphere at an oblique angle, creating the feeble winter sunlight.
The sun is directly overhead at its most northern point at "high-noon" on the summer solstice, creating more sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere on this day than any other.
From folklore, the night of Summer Solstice has long been revered as a time of magic and manifestation, when the sun is at the height of its power in the shadow of the waxing Moon.
MAY YOUR SUMMER SOLSTICE BE MAGICAL!!!

2 comments:

Gail H. Ragsdale said...

I love this Audrey! A very lovely posting! I was not able to post my Solstice photo. We are having issues with our internet server. I can post in the morning, but afternoon and evening I can't load any pages :(

Deborah said...

EVERY day here in the desert is long! teehee. Another great photo, Audrey.
**kisskiss** Deb