7 amazing facts about the Summer Solstice

June 21 marks the summer solstice, which is the beginning of astronomical summer in the Northern Hemisphere. Also known as midsummer, the Summer Solstice occurs once in each hemisphere.

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On this day, either of the Earth’s poles is tilted maximum towards the sun, making it the longest day of the year. Below are 7 interesting facts about the summer solstice  that will leave you amazed.

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1. On the summer solstice, the sun’s path across
the sky is curved, not straight and it always between June 20 and June 22.

2. While the entire Northern Hemisphere will see
its longest day of the year, the solstice sun stands directly over the Tropic
of Cancer.

3. At the solstice, the sun is the highest in the
sky, the term solstice is derived from the Latin words sol (sun) and
sistere (to stand still), because the Sun’s relative position in the sky at
noon does not appear to change much during the solstice and its surrounding
days.

4. The sun’s highest point is lowering day by day
because the earth’s tilt is decreasing gradually.

5. The people of Ålesund, Norway, set a world
record for one of the world’s biggest bonfires which was part of a summer
solstice celebration.

6. In Alaska, midsummer is celebrated with a
midnight baseball game.

7. The Earth is closest to the Sun around the time
the Northern Hemisphere experiences winter and is farthest away near the summer
solstice.