International Day of the Celebration of the Solstice

On June 21, 2022, over 6,000 people gathered at Stonehenge in Britain’s Wiltshire to celebrate the summer solstice, which is the longest day of year in northern hemisphere.

Key Facts

  • People arrived at the spot to see sunrise directly behind the largest stone at World Heritage site in southwest England.
  • This event was also live-streamed by English Heritage, running the site.
  • To witness the summer Solstice, people saw the Sun glint over horizon at around 4.49 am local time.
  • Tourists were allowed to gather at ancient stone circle, for the first time in three years, to celebrate summer solstice.
  • On the summer solstice day, Earth’s tilt is maximum from the Sun.

Summer Solstice

The summer solstice is also known as midsummer or estival solstice. It occurs when one of the poles of Earth has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. This phenomenon happens twice in a year, once in each if Northern hemisphere Southern hemisphere. For the northern hemisphere, summer solstice happens when sun reaches its highest position in sky. It is the day with longest period of daylight. During the summer solstice, there is continuous daylight within Arctic circle (for northern hemisphere) or Antarctic circle (for southern hemisphere). Earth’s maximum axial tilt towards the Sun is 23.44 degree, on summer solstice.

When does summer solstice occur?

Summer solstice occurs during summer. This is called June solstice in Northern Hemisphere while December solstice in Southern Hemisphere. Summer solstice occurs between June 20 to June 22 in northern hemisphere while between December 20 to December 23 in Southern Hemisphere, depending upon the shift in calendar.


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