When is the longer day

Serene Saturn by Damian Peach. Find out more. Visit us. Royal Observatory. Plan your visit. Top things to do. Visit Us. Search Want to search our collection? Search here. We use cookies to ensure you have the best browsing experience and to help us improve our website. Find out more Accept Cookies. Close cookie banner. Find out why. December 21 or 22 solstices happen more often than December 20 and 23 solstices. The last December 23 solstice was in and the next one is in A December 20 solstice is also rare, with the next one in the year Dates may vary depending on the time zone.

The date of the equinoxes and solstices varies because a year in our calendar does not exactly match the length of the tropical year —the time it takes the Earth to complete an orbit around the Sun. Today's Gregorian calendar has days in a common year and days in a leap year. However, our planet takes about This means that the timing of the equinoxes and solstices slowly drifts apart from the Gregorian calendar, and the solstice happens about 6 hours later each year.

Hello Chris. I stand by my statement, but I'll clarify it as follows: Every year the longest day of the year WILL occur one day before or after the Solstice for some places on earth. In order for the date of the Solstice to be the longest day for every place on earth, every latitude would have to keep it's own "solar" clock. By imposing Time Zones we alter this "perfect" clock in at least 3 ways that I can think of. In areas that share a latitude but have different local clocks, the solstice can occur when some areas are ahead of midnight and some are behind it.

So these areas will celebrate the solstice on different dates, but will experience the same actual longest day. Further, even if Time Zones were 24 equal slices of latitude and there was no DST, there would still be a sliver of latitude every year, abutting either the leading or trailing edge of the Time Zone nearest midnight, for which my initial statement applies.

You stated, "This date marks the official beginning of summer as the Northern Hemisphere angles itself at the point in its orbit closest to the sun, causing the longest day and shortest night of the calendar year. Around July 4th this year we will be farthest from the sun and closest to the sun in January called perihelion.

Thank you for this. Some words apparently got garbled. As you pointed out, in the Northern Hemisphere, it is the North Pole that is tilted most toward the Sun at the June solstice, but the Earth and its poles is definitely not at its perihelion, which is in January. We have updated the text. Both are always exciting but really difficult to represent them together like this. Thanks so much for your talent, you guys are amazing!

Maybe give the dog and cat collar a splash of water and a wish, and The House Number I was on my way to visit with my Ma whom had had a double stroke. While I was going through security my phone rang and when I saw Ma's name I knew she was gone. I collapsed and I don't remember how I got to the gate, but there I was with Jet Blue employees helping me. Because of the time differential I assumed Ma passed to Spirit on the 21st of June.

However, when I spoke to the funeral director he said she had passed on the 20th. I didn't realize the significance of this date until I got home and looked at my calendar which still was turned to June. I was hoping Ma could hold on until I got there I was told she had a week, it turned out to be days but she was gone before I got there. Now I know why. Though Ma's Spiritual Path was different than mine, she nonetheless understood and respected my Spiritual Path as a Moon Worshiper and an observer of the 8 Spiritual Rites I hold sacred.

I believe this was the last gift she could give me. Summer was our favorite time of year, and strawberry shortcake was our favorite dessert.

It is now July 14th and 3 weeks have passed. I have my waves of joy and sorrow and yet I am grateful to her for leaving me a remembrance that I will celebrate every Full Moon. It appears that within the last five to ten years recent memory someone decided to begin messing with the thought patterns of the Baby Boomers in relation to the First Day of Summer.

It has always been on June 21st prior to that time when the sneaky 'switch' started occurring. Even the Almanac and all of the yearly calendars stated the same thing.

I'm sticking with the original date, June 21st because I like the idea of being a purist when it comes down to recognition of when Summer actually begins. As for the 20th is concerned, it's just another day trying to hijack the original Summer starts when the Earth is at its most tilted towards the Sun, when our axis is pointed the furthest towards the South.

After this point, the axis begins its 6 month movement back towards North, until the Winter Solstice. The actual date can and does vary. This has nothing to do with anything but the Earth's tilt and its movement. As I am not a farmer or no nothing of farming I was led to believe that the first day of summer is 21st June. Even Stonehenge and British Heritage say the same. Can you please tell me why then it is the 20th June to a farmer and does that change yearly because there seems to be some confusion.

I've always remembered the 1st day of summer being June 21st also. Therefore, the solstice, as NASA puts it, is that instant in time when the North Pole points more directly toward the sun that at any other time during the year. This day is characterised by a greater amount of energy received from the sun. According to NASA, the amount of incoming energy the Earth received from the sun on this day is 30 per cent higher at the North Pole than at the Equator.

The maximum amount of sunlight received by the Northern Hemisphere during this time is usually on June 20, 21 or In contrast, the Southern Hemisphere receives most sunlight on December 21, 22 or 23 when the northern hemisphere has its longest nights— or the winter solstice.

The amount of light received by a specific area in the Northern Hemisphere during the summer solstice depends on the latitudinal location of the place.