Summer Solstice 2015 Begins! (sutra)

Wisdom Quarterly with edited text by TimeAndDate.com

  
Solstice: Longest and Shortest Day of the Year

The June solstice (not to scale)

The June solstice is the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and the Winter Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere. The date it falls on varies every year between June 20 and June 22.

The June solstice in Los Angeles, California, USA fell on

Sunday, June 21st, 2015 at 9:39 am (What about your city?)

June solstice in Universal Coordinated Time was on Sunday, June 21, 2015 at 16:39 UTC.

• Local times for June Solstice 2015 worldwide
• Sunrise, sunset and day length around June Solstice 2015
• Day and Night map for June Solstice 2015
• Equinoxes and solstices from 2000–2049

Zenith away from the equator

A solstice happens when the sun's zenith is at its furthest point from the equator (the center band around the Earth). On the June solstice it reaches its northernmost point. And the Earth’s North Pole tilts directly towards the sun, at about 23.5 degrees. It is also known as the "northern solstice" because it occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere.

• 11 Facts About the June Solstice

The 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 it sets to the north of west, meaning it's visible in the sky for a longer period of time. More