Summer Solstice, the time when the sun reaches its northernmost point in the sky, occurs this year at 4:28am on Monday, June 21. The summer solstice not only marks the beginning of summer for the Northern Hemisphere; it also means that the daylight hours are maximized. San Diegans now enjoy approximately 14 hours of daylight, in contrast to the meager 10 hours or so we experience in December. Anytime this week or next, try checking your shadow at 12:50pm (the local daylight time in San Diego currently equivalent to astronomical noon). The sun is then only 10° south of the straight-up direction and casts near-vertical shadows. A lesser-known consequence of the summer solstice is that our twilight periods are longer than usual. Evening and morning twilight periods are now lasting more than 90 minutes.
Summer Solstice, the time when the sun reaches its northernmost point in the sky, occurs this year at 4:28am on Monday, June 21. The summer solstice not only marks the beginning of summer for the Northern Hemisphere; it also means that the daylight hours are maximized. San Diegans now enjoy approximately 14 hours of daylight, in contrast to the meager 10 hours or so we experience in December. Anytime this week or next, try checking your shadow at 12:50pm (the local daylight time in San Diego currently equivalent to astronomical noon). The sun is then only 10° south of the straight-up direction and casts near-vertical shadows. A lesser-known consequence of the summer solstice is that our twilight periods are longer than usual. Evening and morning twilight periods are now lasting more than 90 minutes.