 GEORGIA — The summer solstice marks the longest day of the year — and the beginning of the season of vacation days, festivals and other fun across Georgia. Summer officially arrives in Atlanta at 11:54 a.m. Friday, June 21 at the moment the sun reaches the Tropic of Cancer, its highest point. The summer solstice is also the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. There will be 14 hours and 23 minutes of daylight on Friday. The sun rises at 6:27 a.m. and doesn't set until 8:51 p.m in Atlanta. Here's a few events set this weekend to celebrate the solstice:
And put these summer fun events on your calendar this weekend:
Other events are happening all the time in Atlanta this summer, including:
Here are four things to know about the summer solstice: 1. Native American tribes have long observed the summer solstice and many continue the rituals today. Tribes in present-day Wyoming constructed a "medicine wheel," a stone wheel with 28 spikes, at the top of Bighorn Moutain to observe the solstice. It was aligned with the sunrise and sunset of the solstice and is accessible only in the summer months. 2. Thousands will gather at Stonehenge, a Neolithic megalith monument in the south of England, to celebrate the summer solstice. Stonehenge, built around 2500 B.C., lines up perfectly with both the summer and winter solstices. 3. The summer solstice is steeped in pagan folklore and superstition. According to some accounts, people wore protective garlands of herbs and flowers to ward off evil spirits that appear on the summer solstice. 4. June 21 marks the beginning of winter in the Southern Hemisphere. The forecast high temperature for the first day of winter in Esperanza, located on the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula (the coldest place on Earth), is 8 degrees. Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
The last few days have felt summery enough to most Americans, but the season is only getting started Tuesday.
Tuesday, June 21 is the summer solstice — the longest daylight hours of the year and the official start of summer. The North Pole will tilt closest to the sun at 5:14 a.m. EDT, 4:14 a.m. CDT or 2:14 a.m. PDT. The sun will appear to be directly over the Tropic of Cancer — its furthest point to the north all year.
That's the exact moment astronomical summer begins in the Northern Hemisphere. (Temperature-based meteorological summer, used mainly by researchers who study weather and climate, began on June 1.)
The summer solstice brings the longest daylight hours of the year. The further North you are from the equator, the more daylight you'll get. Daylight hours will gradually shorten until the winter solstice in December.
Solstices and seasons happen because of the Earth's tilt. You can think of Earth's axis as an imaginary pole through the center of the planet from top to bottom, NASA explains. Earth spins around this pole, making one turn each day and causing day and night.
That axis is tilted about 23.5 degrees. The Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun in June, causing more direct light and warmer temperatures.
People have been tracking and celebrating the sun's progress for a very long time. One of the reasons people built monuments like Stonehenge in England and the Torreon in Machu Picchu was to follow the sun's path and predict its movements, NASA says.
Celebrations continue today around the world — some with a high-tech twist. English Heritage, which looks after Stonehenge, plans to livestream sunrise and sunset from the ancient stone circle. Thousands flock to the monument each year to celebrate the solstice, though in-person revelry was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.
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