Summer Solstice: 4 Fascinating Facts and 1 Caution….

Pack a picnic and head outside to enjoy these warm and breezy June days. The sun is smiling on us longer each day!

4 Fascinating Facts:

• As the earth journeys around the sun it tilts or leans at an angle. 23.44 degrees to be exact! This tilt means that sometimes we are pointed toward our sun and sometimes we are pointed away.
• On the summer solstice the North Pole is closer to the sun. We see and feel the sunlight for more hours during the day, giving us longer, warmer days and shorter nights.
• On the summer solstice the sun will rise to its highest point in our sky. This makes it the longest day of the year on Earth.
• In 6 months when the earth has traveled half way around the sun again our days will be cooler and shorter and winter will arrive.

1 Caution:

• Be careful that your kids do not to look directly up at the sun. The sun is so bright it can harm your eyes.

What solstice actually means:

The word solstice comes from Latin, that language of ancient Rome.  In Latin the words “sol” + “sistere” mean the apparent standing still of the sun.  In the days before and just after the summer solstice the sun appears to be motionless in the sky.

Many languages around the world use a variation of the world “sol” to mean sun. In French the word for sun or “sol” is soleil. In Italian the word for sun or “sol” is sole.

Featured image: © Flynt | Dreamstime.com

Image of summer solstice: © Peter Hermes Furian | Dreamstime.com