Jackson, Wyo. — Happy Summer Solstice! Sunday, June 21, marks the first day of summer in Jackson Hole and the longest day of the year with 15 hours and 26 minutes of daylight.
What is a Solstice?
According to National Geographic, solstices occur because Earth’s axis of rotation is tilted about 23.4° relative to Earth’s orbit around the sun. This tilt drives Earth’s seasons, as the Northern and Southern Hemispheres get varying amounts of sunlight over the course of a year.
The term solstice comes from the Latin words sol and sistere, meaning “sun” and “to stand still.” In terms of daylight, June 21 will have about six more hours of sun compared to the winter solstice on Dec. 21. The sun will rise at 5:41 a.m. and set at 9:08 p.m. on Sunday.
A common misconception is that the changing of seasons is due to the distance from the earth to the sun that changes throughout the year; however, it actually has nothing to do with distance, according to Samuel Singer, executive director of Wyoming Stargazers.
In the summer, the sun spends more hours in the sky, allowing more time for the sun to heat the earth; thus, we get warmer in the summertime and colder in the wintertime.
Original reporting: Buckrail (Jackson WY) — read the source article.
