The longest day of the yr happens this coming Saturday. Within the Northern Hemisphere, the summer season solstice is on June twenty first. That is the day when the subsolar level – the situation on Earth the place the Solar is instantly overhead at photo voltaic midday – reaches its northernmost place, instantly above the Tropic of Most cancers.
The subsolar level strikes north and south all year long because the Earth orbits the Solar. On the summer season solstice, it is at its highest level within the Northern Hemisphere, marking the start of summer season and the day with essentially the most daylight. Conversely, in the course of the winter solstice round December twenty first, the subsolar level is at its southernmost place, instantly above the Tropic of Capricorn, ensuing within the shortest day of the yr within the Northern Hemisphere.
The animated map above reveals the subsolar level shifting between the Tropic of Most cancers and the Tropic of Capricorn from June sixteenth (in the present day) via the winter solstice. You may discover this for your self on Tropics of Most cancers and Capricorn – an interactive map that shows each tropics and the subsolar level for any day of the yr. Use the day slider within the map sidebar to pick a date. The road signifies the place on Earth the Solar is instantly overhead at midday for the chosen day.
By coincidence, the highway on which I stay is completely aligned with the rising solar on the morning of the summer season solstice. I found this fascinating element on Solstice Streets, an interactive map that highlights roads in cities world wide which align with the dawn on both the summer season or winter solstice. The location blends astronomy with city design, revealing how some fashionable streets unintentionally – or maybe in some instances deliberately – mirror historical alignments that remember photo voltaic occasions.
