The longest day of the year is nearly here even if the summer weather is not. The day is very literal in its meaning – it is the day in the calendar when the United Kingdom sees the most daylight hours. In the Northern Hemisphere, the longest day of the year usually takes place between June 20 and 22 depending on time zones. Also known as the summer solstice, the day marks the moment when the sun’s zenith is at its furthest point from the equator.
This is when the Earth achieves its maximum tilt of 23.33 degrees towards the sun its northernmost point.
The summer solstice date varies a little every year depending on the gravitational pull of the planets and moon.
When is the longest day of the year 2019?
The longest day of the year 2019 is on Friday, June 21 with summer solstice officially reached at 4.54pm.
The sun will rise at 4.43am and set at 9.21pm meaning there will be 16 hours and 38 minutes of daylight in the UK.
On winter solstice in December, the opposite happens with the longest night of the year and the least amount of daylight.
In the southern hemisphere, people will be marking their shortest day of the year tomorrow.
Countries in the southern hemisphere include Australia, South Africa and Brazil.
Does the longest day of the year mark the start of summer?
Summer solstice signals the start of the astronomical summer in the northern hemisphere.
But most people will already have welcomed the start of the meteorological summer, which began on June 1.
Meteorologists use this summer with the year being divided up into four seasons.
Summer runs from June to August under this theory.
How do people celebrate the summer solstice?
Midsummer festivals are extremely popular across Europe.
In the UK, thousands of people annually flock to Stonehenge to witness the sun’s rising.
Crowds will gather at the pagan hotspot to watch the sun rise towards the north east as it moves through the Heel Stone.