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* Science

# Fascinating Facts About the Summer Solstice

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<!-- video src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/S98XGReQ.m3u8" -->
## Video: Fascinating Facts About the Summer Solstice

[Watch (HLS stream): Fascinating Facts About the Summer Solstice](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/S98XGReQ.m3u8) (1:07)

![Fascinating Facts About the Summer Solstice](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/S98XGReQ/poster.jpg?width=720)

_Published 2024-06-20. In 2024, June 20 marks the summer solstice, the first official day of astronomical summer._


---

Jun 21, 2024 12:41 PM UTC

---

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### Is the Summer Solstice Making You Happier?

[Summer Solstice: The Start of Summer](/video/4QJbAXP9/)

### Summer Solstice: The Start of Summer

---


## Transcript

The solstice is the longest day of the year. And what that means is we see the sun in the sky for the longest period of time. Our Earth is spinning on its axis once every 24 hours, but depending on our tilt, we're going to be seeing it in the sky for longer or shorter periods of time. It's just going to be in the right direction for a longer amount of time for today. So during the solstice, about 16 hours of sunlight can be expected at a much shorter. Terms of measuring when the solstice is, we can observe the sunrise and sunset times, and when they are the furest apart, that's how we know the solstice is happening.

It's a great time for solar observation because the sun is in the sky for the longest amount of time, but a little bit annoying for everything else, as a lot of astronomy is done at night, so the shortest night of the year is not particularly ideal. As we head towards the solstice, they get longer. Once we pass it, they will start getting shorter again. This is eventually heading to a point called the Equinox, which occurs in September, when we'll have an equal number of daylight and nighttime hours within our 24 hour period.

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