![]() ![]() Perhaps most famously, the ancient monument Stonehenge has for some time been the centre of a ritual celebration. Since humans began using the Sun as a timekeeper, particularly when it came to the cycle in farming, the summer solstice has been marked with varying degrees of importance. Why do people celebrate the solstice at Stonehenge? The world 'solstice' comes from the Latin solstitium meaning 'Sun stands still', because the apparent movement of the Sun's path north or south stops before changing direction. The times when the Sun is at its furthest from the celestial equator are called the summer and winter solstices. In 2023 the winter solstice will occur on 22 December. The winter solstice occurs in December in the Northern Hemisphere and marks midwinter: the shortest day and longest night. For the other half of the year the reverse is true. This tilt means that during one half of the year the North side of the Earth is tilted slightly towards the Sun and the South is tilted away. Instead, it is tilted slightly at 23.44°. However, the axis of rotation of the Earth is not lined up with the axis of motion around the Sun. Our Earth rotates on its axis once each day, producing the cycle of day and night.Īt the same time, the Earth moves around the Sun on its orbit over the course of a year. This moment comes when whichever hemisphere you're in is most tilted towards the Sun. However, while most people consider the summer solstice to be a day, it is in reality an exact moment in time that falls upon that day. On this day, the number of hours of daylight are at their maximum, while the number of hours of night are at their minimum. The summer solstice occurs in June in the Northern Hemisphere and marks midsummer: the 'longest day' and 'shortest night' of the year. In 2023 the summer solstice will occur on Wednesday 21 June at 15:58 BST. ![]()
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