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This year's summer solstice is getting closer and closer. This day, long awaited by all lovers of heat and good weather, is the one that marks the astronomical transition to the summer season. Do you know why the summer solstice happens and when it will be exactly?
If you want to learn more about the summer solstice and some of its curiosities, keep reading us in this Green Ecologist article about it. summer solstice 2022 in the northern and southern hemisphere. We anticipate that in the north is the June 21 and in the south on December 21.
What is the summer solstice
The word solstice comes from Latin, and means "Still sun", since during several days the maximum height of the Sun seems to remain stable. What is this phenomenon due to?
The Earth is constantly in a double movement of translation, in an orbit around the Sun, and of rotation, turning on itself. Thanks to the rotational movement, which takes 24 hours to complete, we have days and nights, since only half of the planet is receiving the solar influx at any given time. Translation, on the other hand, is responsible for the existence of the seasons on our planet. More than translation, in fact, it is the combination of translational motion with the fact that the Earth's axis of rotation is tilted.
This inclination is approximately 23º, which causes the Earth's equator is not perpendicular to the Sun. This, although it might not seem important, causes the solar rays to affect each hemisphere more during half the solar orbit, that is: the seasons appear. In this other post you can learn more about why there are seasons of the year.
Thus, contrary to what many believe, the fact that it is summer or winter does not depend on our distance from the Sun, which is actually greater during the summer in the northern hemisphere, but on the inclination of the Earth's equator with respect to our great star. .
Thus, the Summer Solstice marks the day when the incidence of the Sun is greatest on one of the hemispheres, thus also marking the longest day and the shortest night of the year. You might think that, being the day when a hemisphere receives the most solar influx, it is also the hottest, however, this is a mistake. The Earth absorbs this solar radiation in different ways depending on whether it is terrestrial or aquatic surface, which absorb the temperature at different rates and take time to release it. As when the solstice arrives, the land and the oceans are still relatively cool, the highest temperatures do not arrive until several weeks later, in a time that depends on the specific characteristics of each territory and climate.
Here we talk about Why the Earth revolves around the Sun and also about Why the Earth moves.
Why is the summer solstice celebrated?
The arrival of summer has always been, historically, a moment of celebration welcomed with joy by all kinds of cultures. Just as winter has always marked the arrival of cold and scarcity, summer is a time of well-being and abundance in the countryside.
- Formerly, the egyptians they considered this day the start of the new year, which roughly coincides with the rising of the star Sirius and the arrival of the floods to the Nile. In fact, the great pyramids are built in such a way that, if we stand at the sphinx, the Sun is situated exactly between two of the pyramids on the solstice day.
- The Incas celebrated their summer solstice with the Inti Raymi, a ceremony with offerings and sacrifices.
- In the UK there is Stonehenge, one of the most famous ancient constructions associated with the solstices, since, at dawn of the summer solstice, the Sun rises over Heel Stone.
- Currently there are still many celebrations around this day, such as the bonfires of San Juan in Spain, the Ansara festival in North Africa, the rite of virility in Sweden or the celebrations of Chichén Itzá, in Yucatán. In China the forces of yang take center stage and in Reikiavic, Iceland, one of the most important electronic music festivals is held, the Secret Solstice Festival.
When is summer solstice 2022
The Summer Solstice occurs when the Sun reaches a maximum inclination with respect to the equator, forming an angle of + 23º27 'for the northern hemisphere, or -23º27' for the southern hemisphere.
When is summer solstice 2022 in the northern hemisphere
In this year 2022, the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere will take place on June 21 at 03:32 UTC.
When is summer solstice 2022 in the southern hemisphere
In the southern hemisphere, on the other hand, the summer solstice will occur on December 21 at 15:59 UTC.
Difference between solstice and equinox
Yes the solstices correspond to the longest day and night every year, the equinoxes they are just the opposite. These are the points in the elliptical orbit around the Sun in which the Sun affects more perpendicularly on the Earth's equator, giving rise to the two moments in which day and night are closer in duration, and in that both hemispheres receive an almost equal amount of light.
Now that you know what is and when is the summer solstice of 2022, you might want to learn more about other seasons of the year:
- Winter Solstice 2022: Northern and Southern Hemisphere.
- Spring Equinox 2022: Northern and Southern Hemisphere.
If you want to read more articles similar to Summer Solstice 2022: Northern and Southern Hemisphere, we recommend that you enter our category of Curiosities of the Earth and the universe.
