The Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, occurred on June 20. The celestial milestone was celebrated in Bellport at the Center for Environmental Discovery (CEED), which hosted a Summer Solstice Festival over the weekend.
To understand the solstices, both summer and winter, one must be aware of “tilt.” Spinning around its axis, the Earth accomplishes one revolution every 24 hours. This is what gives us day and night as we face the sun or turn away from it.
The Earth’s axis, however, is not straight up and down—it’s tilted by 23 degrees. This means that in the summer, the folks in the Northern Hemisphere are tilted toward the sun, while in the winter, they are tilted away from it. For those south of the Equator, it’s the reverse: while we’re experiencing the hot weather of June, it’s winter for them. This is because during the 365 days it takes the Earth to revolve around the sun, half the time you’ll be tilted toward it, and half the time you’ll be turning away from it.
The planet’s unique configuration in the cosmos makes for some interesting phenomena at the poles. Upon the Summer Solstice in the North Pole, the Earth completely faces the sun and the top of the world does not experience darkness. At the South Pole, they are marking the Winter Solstice and it remains dark for the entire day.
Heading north from the Equator during the summer, the days become longer and longer. While the sun set at 8:30 p.m. in New York on June 20, it didn’t go down until 1:47 in the morning in Nome, Alaska, having only come up a few hours earlier. This makes for an enormous growing season, with northern territories producing amazing fruits and vegetables.
The hemisphere’s salad days last until December 21, when it suffers its darkest day as the Earth is tilted the farthest away from the sun during the Winter Solstice. On this day in New York, it gets dark out at 4:28 p.m., while in Nome, they enjoy the sunset at 3:56 p.m. Even though the sun dips below the horizon, what’s known as the “Last Light” doesn’t occur until about a half hour later, depending on your latitude.
Everything balances out both in the spring and the fall when there are equal amounts of light and dark. The Autumnal Equinox takes place on September 22, while the Vernal Equinox happens on March 20. The Earth’s climate doesn’t follow these dates exactly since it takes time for the atmosphere to cool down or heat up.
Working on 60 acres entrusted to them by Brookhaven Town and Suffolk County, CEED’s mission is to connect the community to nature and science with the creative use of discovery, art, and education. They look to educate and inspire people of all ages to care about the environment and protect the fragile ecosystems of our community, including our bays and oceans, as well as Long Island and the world at large. Visit them at www.ceedli.org.