Summer solstice

Diagram of the Earth's seasons as seen from the north. Far left: summer solstice for the Northern Hemisphere. Front right: summer solstice for the Southern Hemisphere.

Although the summer solstice is the longest day of the year for that hemisphere, the dates of earliest sunrise and latest sunset vary by a few days.[7] This is because the Earth orbits the Sun in an ellipse, and its orbital speed varies slightly during the year.[8]

Although the Sun appears at its highest altitude from the viewpoint of an observer in outer space or a terrestrial observer outside tropical latitudes, the highest altitude occurs on a different day for certain locations in the tropics, specifically those where the Sun is directly overhead (maximum 90 degrees elevation) at the subsolar point. This day occurs twice each year for all locations between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn because the overhead Sun appears to cross a given latitude once before the day of the solstice and once afterward. For example, Lahaina Noon occurs in May and July in Hawaii. See solstice article. For all observers, the apparent position of the noon Sun is at its most northerly point on the June solstice and most southerly on the December solstice.

2016 was the first time in nearly 70 years that a full moon and the Northern Hemisphere's summer solstice occurred on the same day.[9] The 2016 summer solstice's full moon rose just as the Sun set.[10]

The significance given to the summer solstice has varied among cultures, but most recognize the event in some way with holidays, festivals, and rituals around that time with themes of religion or fertility.[11] For example, in Sweden, midsummer is one of the year's major holidays when the country closes down as much as during Christmas. In some regions, the summer solstice is seen as the beginning of summer and the end of spring. In other cultural conventions, the solstice is closer to the middle of summer.[12]

Summer solstice sunset over the Mojave Desert 7:54 p.m. PDT (19:54) June 20, 2016

Longreach, Queensland at mid-day of summer solstice 2019. The town is on the Tropic of Capricorn (Shadow directly below the sign)

Solstice is derived from the Latin words sol (Sun) and sistere (to stand still).

• Midsummer
• Noc Kupały (Poland)
• Dragon Boat Festival (East Asia)
• Christmas typically marks the southern summer solstice.
• Day of Private Reflection (Northern Ireland)
• Jaanipäev (Estonia)
• Juhannus (Finland)
• Jāņi (Latvia)
• Rasos (Lithuania)
• National Aboriginal Day (Canada)
• Tiregān (Iran)
• Fremont Solstice Parade (Fremont, Seattle, Washington, United States)
• Santa Barbara Summer Solstice Parade (Santa Barbara, California, United States)
• International Surfing Day
• International Yoga Day
• Fête de la Musique, also known as World Music Day

The following tables contain information on the length of the day on the 20th June, close to the summer solstice of the Northern Hemisphere and winter solstice of the Southern Hemisphere (i.e. June solstice). The data was collected from the website of the Finnish Meteorological Institute on 20 June 2016[13] as well as from certain other websites.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]

The data is arranged geographically and within the tables from the longest day to the shortest one.

Length of day increases from the equator towards the North Pole in the Northern Hemisphere in June (around the summer solstice there), but decreases towards the South Pole in the Southern Hemisphere at the time of the southern winter solstice.

• Daytime
• Stonehenge
• Tekufah
• Xiazhi (Summer solstice in Chinese culture)

• Table of dates/times from 1600–2400