It’s Summer!
The summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere occurred about 9 hours ago at 17:16UTC (1:16 PM EDT) on Tuesday, June 21st.
The summer solstice occurs when Earth’s obliquity or axial tilt is at a maximum inclination of 23° 26′ toward Sun. It’s the time of the year when the sun reaches its northern most position.
In the Northern Hemisphere the summer solstice occurs in June north of the Tropic of Cancer (23°26’N); in the Southern Hemisphere it occurs in December south of the Tropic of Capricorn (23°26’S).
In the Southern Hemisphere this year’s summer solstice will occur on December 22 at 05:30UTC.
Seasons are caused by the fact that the Earth is tilted on its axis by 23.5°. The summer solstice occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer, which is located at 23.5° North, and runs through Mexico, the Bahamas, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, India, and southern China. Because of the Earth’s tilt, the sun will be directly over the Tropic of Cancer at 1116 am MDT on June 21, 2011. For every place north of the Tropic of Cancer, the sun is at its highest point in the sky and this is the longest day of the year. The winter solstice occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Capricorn, which is located at 23.5° south of the equator. The sun will be directly over the Tropic of Capricorn at 1030 pm on December 21, 2011. There are two times of the year when the Earth’s axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun, resulting in an equal amount of daylight and darkness at all latitudes. These events are referred to as equinoxes and occur near March 21 (Vernal Equinox) and near September 21 (Autumnal Equinox). At the equator, the sun is directly overhead at noon on the two equinoxes. The Vernal Equinox occurred at 521 pm MDT on March 21, 2011. The Autumnal Equinox will occur at 304 am MDT on September 2, 2011. [Source of image and caption: NWS Albuquerque]
Although the summer solstice is the longest day of the year, the days on either side of the solstice are only a few seconds shorter. See diagram above for Albuquerque daylight. [Source: NWS Albuquerque]
Loss of Seasons?
Fire Earth 