Crunching The Numbers

Today was the Summer Solstice, which is the longest day of the year (14 hours and 45 minutes). This is over five hours longer than on the shortest day of the year (Winter Solstice). I've compiled all the data and put it into table form.

Can you tell today was a quiet weather day? :)

Summer Begins Today!

Summer officially began this morning at 1:45 AM. The Summer Solstice is the time period when the Sun's most direct rays are over 23.3°N. It is also the longest day of the year - days will now shorten for the rest of the year.

There is a common misconception that the Earth is closest to the Sun during summer. It's actually the opposite! On July 4th, the Earth will be at its farthest point from the Sun - roughly 95 million miles (called the Aphelion). On January 4th earlier this year, the Earth was at its closest point to the Sun - approximately 91 million miles (called the Perihelion).