An important astronomical event that the Arab world and the world will witness next week

Weather of Arabia - Next week, the Arab world and the world will witness an important astronomical event, specifically on Tuesday, June 21, 2022 at 1:13 pm Mecca time, when the North Pole of the Earth is at its maximum inclination towards the sun, so the sun perpendicular to the Tropic of Cancer at Latitude 23.44°N. On this day, the northern hemisphere has the longest day of the year and the shortest night.

This day marks the official start and first day of summer in the northern hemisphere - the "summer solstice", and the first day of winter in the southern hemisphere - the "winter solstice" .

What is the summer solstice?

Why is it considered an important astronomical event?

Because of the tilt of the Earth’s axis as it rotates around the sun, the angle of the sun’s rays falling on the Earth changes during the year, and thus the apparent sunrise and sunset point in the sky changes between north and south, meaning that the sun’s path in the sky becomes higher or lower throughout the year, and on the summer solstice the sun reaches to its northernmost point in the sky.

Then, after the day of the summer solstice (solar solstice) , the sun appears to reverse its course and start heading south, meaning that the apparent path of the sun in the sky reverses and starts heading south until it reaches the southernmost point on the winter solstice in December.

This astronomical event is accompanied by many phenomena that we witness on Earth, the most important of which are: the official beginning of summer, sunrise from the far north-east and sunset in the far north-west, the longest day and shortest night, the shortest shadow, the absence of noon shadow in the regions located on the Tropic of Cancer.

For more: Regions of Arab countries witness the phenomenon of noon shadow on June 21

The longest day of the year...and the shortest shadow

The summer solstice is the day on which the northern hemisphere receives the longest period of sunlight (longest day). The sun's rays hit the Earth at a more direct angle, causing the effective warming we call summer, so summer officially begins on the day of the summer solstice.

Since the sun is at its highest point in the sky on this day, you will notice that your shadow at noon is the shortest of the year.

You May Also Like: 10 Fun Facts About Summer Solstice

The summer solstice and its relationship to Stonehenge in England

The famous stone monument Stonehenge is located in England, specifically in Wiltshire, which is about an hour and a half from London. In the calendar's account, it may have served several purposes over the years, so people gather there on the solstice to witness one of the most important architectural wonders.

You may also be interested in: Historical Landmarks Associated with the Winter Solstice

Does the summer solstice always happen on the same day?

The timing of the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere each year depends on when the sun reached its northernmost point on the equator. So the date of the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere ranges from June 20 to 22. This change occurs due to several effects, namely:

• The gravitational influence of the moon and other planets.
• A slight fluctuation in the Earth's rotation.
• The difference between the Gregorian calendar system (which usually has 365 days) and the solar year (the time taken by the Earth to complete one revolution around the sun), which is about 365.242199 days long. To make up for the missing day portion, the Gregorian calendar adds a leap day approximately every 4 years.