By
The longest day of the year is here. Today is the summer
solstice when the UK
gets to enjoy 16 hours and 38 minutes of daylight.
The sun rose at 4:43am today and sets at 9:31pm -
plenty of time for an early morning run or a late evening barbecue.
What is the summer
solstice exactly?
There are two solstices each year - one in the winter and
one in the summer. The summer solstice occurs when the when the tilt of
Earth's axis is most inclined towards the sun and is directly above the Tropic of
Cancer.
It might seem like a day to celebrate, but it actually
signals the moment the sun's path stops moving northward in the sky, and
the start of days becoming steadily shorter as the slow march towards
winter begins.
However, we won't notice the days becoming shorter for a
while. The shortest day of the year isn't until Thursday, December
21, known as the winter solstice.
In the southern hemisphere the dates of the two solstices
are reversed. The winter solstice occurs on the same day in June and the
summer solstice the same day in December.
Summer solstice at Stonehenge ,
with the sun rising in the distance. CREDIT: PAUL GROVER FOR THE TELEGRAPH
What happens during
the winter solstice?
At the winter solstice, the Earth's axis is tilted furthest
away from the sun directly over the Tropic of Capricorn bringing only a
few hours of daylight.
December 21 will be eight hours and 49 minutes shorter than
the June solstice when the sun will set at 16:27 in London .
What
does 'solstice' actually mean?
The term 'solstice' derives from the Latin word
'solstitium', meaning 'sun standing still'. Some prefer the more teutonic term
'sunturn' to describe the event.
Astrologers say the sun seems to 'stand still' at the point
on the horizon where it appears to rise and set, before moving off in
the reverse direction.
Why did people celebrate the summer solstice?
Pagans have always believed the summer solstice - also known
as midsummer as it was the midpoint of the growing season - holds a special
power.
Midsummer's eve was believed to be a time when the veil
between this world and the next is at its thinnest and when fairies were
thought to be at their most powerful.
The
day has inspired festivals and midsummer celebrations involving bonfires,
picnics, singing and Maypole dancing over the centuries. Many
towns and villages across Britain
still celebrate the day.
One ritual that's now died out was the lighting of fires
with the idea that the flames would keep the dark days from approaching.
Thousands of garland-wearing hippies, druids and
tourists will stay up all night to watch the sunrise at Stonehenge
this year. CREDIT: PAUL GROVER FOR THE TELEGRAPH
Why is Stonehenge so significant?
Thousands
of garland-wearing hippies, druids and curious tourists descend on
Stonehenge in Avebury, Wiltshire every year to watch the sunrise.
The ancient prehistoric structure has been a place
of worship and celebration at the time of summer solstice for thousands of
years and is seen by many as a sacred site.
The Pagan monument is famously aligned to the
solstices. The rising sun only reaches the middle of the stones one
day of the year when it shines on the central altar.
Despite it's obvious connections to the sun, the exact
purpose of the mysterious circle still remains unknown.
Built in three phases between 3,000 B.C. and 1,600 B.C,
the huge stones were brought from very long distances - the bluestones
from the Preseli Hills more than 150 miles away, and the sarsens probably
from the Marlborough Downs, 19 miles to the north.
Where can I celebrate
the summer solstice?
It will be slightly quieter at the National Trust's
Avebury stone circle, Britain 's
second greatest prehistoric site, about 20 miles from Stonehenge, and also
at the Castlerigg Stone
Circle in Cumbria .
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