First day of Summer (Summer Solstice), Monday, June 20, 2016

Vox Energy and Environment (the Pagan and the Pen blog), Brad Plumber, 6/20/16. "The summer solstice is Monday: 7 things to know about the longest day of the year."

Beginning of Summer
north of the Equator.

"The summer solstice is upon us: Monday, June 20, will be the longest day of 2016 for anyone living north of the equator. If pagan rituals are your thing, this is probably a big moment for you. If not, the solstice is still pretty neat. This year’s even includes a "strawberry moon," the first time that’s happened in 70 years.

....  Why do we have a summer solstice, anyway?  Most people know this one. The Earth orbits around the Sun on a tilted axis (probably because our planet collided with some other massive object billions of years ago, back when it was still being formed).  So, between March and September, the Earth’s Northern Hemisphere gets more exposure to direct sunlight over the course of a day. The rest of the year, the Southern Hemisphere gets more. It’s the reason for the seasons:  In the Northern Hemisphere, "peak" sunlight usually occurs on June 20, 21, or 22 of any given year. That’s the summer solstice. By contrast, the Southern Hemisphere reaches peak sunlight on December 21, 22, or 23 and the north hits peak darkness — that’s our winter solstice.  Read article.

Longest day of the year, 6/20/16:
almost 15 hours of sunlight.

Related, article. Motherboard/Steve Huff, 6/19/16,"This year's Summer Solstice comes with a rare strawberry moon." ....The Sun is in a high position and the Moon is equally low, Berman explains. As a result, the brightly illuminated face of the Moon “forces its light through thicker air” and it may take on a rich, golden shade—a “true Honey Moon.” It’s a visually striking celestial moment that happens about once a generation. Because it is so unusual, the Farmer’s Almanac will join with Slooh, an online network of robotic telescopes, to live-stream the June solstice full moon, complete with commentary from Berman and Slooh staff astronomer Paul Cox. You can watch on YouTube once the stream begins Monday night." 

Reference, timeline.  Time and Date/June Solstice, "June Solstice: Longest and shortest day of the year." "The June solstice is the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and the Winter Solstice the Southern Hemisphere. The date varies between June 20 and June 22, depending on the year, and which time zone you are in.June Solstice in San Francisco, California, USA is on Monday, June 20, 2016 at 3:34 PM PDT (Change city). .... Meaning of Solstice.'Solstice' (Latin: 'solstitium') means 'sun-stopping'. The point on the horizon where the sun appears to rise and set, stops and reverses direction after this day. On the solstice, the sun does not rise precisely in the east, but rises to the north of east and sets to the north of west, meaning it's visible in the sky for a longer period of time. Although the June solstice marks the first day of astronomical summer, it's more common to use meteorological definitions of seasons, making the solstice midsummer or midwinter."

Note: Earth Axis (NASA), and almost 15 hours of daylight for Northern California (Brian Brettschneider) from the Vox Energy and Environment article. 

Posted by Kathy Meeh