Most summer festivals are linked to recognition of the growing length of day. The farther one lives from the equator, the more noticeable are seasonal variations in daylight and warmth, and the more important seasonal events such as midsummer festivals become. The equinoxes mark the halfway point, when sunrise and sunset are exactly east and west. The extremes are the Winter Solstice (around December 21), when the sun rises and sets farthest to the south, and the Summer Solstice (around June 21) when they are farthest to the north. Throughout the northern winter and spring, the points of sunrise and sunset move farther and farther north. Just as with people coming from a frigid lake or hot bath, it takes time for solid bodies to warm up or cool down. The atmosphere, land and oceans all buffer the earth’s temperature, thus the coldest and warmest times follow the winter and summer solstices, respectively, rather than falling on those days. Solstice: Mid-13th century., from Old French solstice, from Latin solstitium “point at which the sun seems to stand still,” especially the summer solstice, from sol “the sun” (from PIE root *sawel- “the sun”) + past participle stem of sistere “stand still, take a stand to set, place, cause to stand,” from PIE root *si-st-, reduplicated form of root *sta- “to stand, make or be firm.” In early use, Englished as sunstead (late Old English sunstede). Summer: “hot season of the year,” Old English sumor “summer,” from Proto-Germanic * sumur- (source also of Old Saxon, Old Norse, Old High German sumar, Old Frisian sumur, Middle Dutch somer, Dutch zomer, German s ommer), from Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root * sem- (2) “summer” (source also of Sanskrit sama “season, half-year,” Avestan hama “in summer,” Armenian amarn “summer,” Old Irish sam, Old Welsh ham, Welsh haf“summer”).
Perhelion – it’s closest point to the sun – is six months later, on January 2nd, 2018.ĭefinition of the terms (from Online Etymology ) In face, the earth reaches Aphelion – it’s farthest point from the sun – on July 3rd. Tilt of earth at northern summer solstice ( )Īs described above, it’s the Earth’s axial tilt that causes our winter and summer, not the Earth’s distance from the sun. The earth doesn’t tilt – the rest of the universe is off-kilter. Unbalanced gnawing on the earth’s core by large blind mole rats caused it to wobble. Other conjectures: No-longer-existing planet Thea whacked the earth, creating the moon and tilting the earth. The tilt may have resulted from a large collision, an event which may have simultaneously created our moon. During the early phase, solid bodies were both growing in size and moving less orderly than today collisions resulted. When the solar system condensed out of a gaseous nebula, condensation occurred unevenly. Why does the Earth Tilt? Opinions vary, no one knows for sure. The human eye is the only instrument that can simultaneously capture all the visible effects, and no photograph can duplicate the beauty and awe of the experience. The difference between even 99% partial and 100% total is – literally and metaphorically – the difference between night and day.
If you’re planning on settling for a partial eclipse, don’t bother.
Northern Oregon is the area closest to Southern California. Get yourself onto ‘centerline’ to maximize the viewing time. UPCOMING TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE AUGUST 21, 2017 Our seasons are due entirely to the tilt of the earth’s axis. This is the longest day of the year and the first day of Summer in the northern hemisphere conversely in the southern hemisphere it is the shortest day of the year and the first day of Winter. Anywhere within the Arctic Circle on June solstice day, the sun is above the horizon continuously for 24 hours. The sun rises at 5:42 AM at 16° north of due east, daylight will last 14 hours, 25 minutes, 20 seconds (14:25:20) the sun sets at 8:08 PM at 29° north of due west, and combined nighttime (pre-dawn + post-sunset) is 9 hours, 34 minutes, 40 seconds (9:34:40).ĭaylight on June 20 is two seconds longer than on June 19, and less than one second shorter than on June 21.
The second solar event of this calendar year is the Summer Solstice, scheduled in Los Angeles for Jat 9:24 PM PDT (or 21 June 0424 UTC – Universal Time Coordinated, if you prefer also known as Greenwich Meridian Time in Ye Merrie Olde Angleland). Not a rotting peach, but our Sun – 860,000 miles in diameter, 8 light-minutes away ( Alan Friedman ~ 4/22/14, on NASA site)
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