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Summer Solstice Marks Longest Day in Northern Hemisphere

Astronomers are inviting the public to Sun Day events across Italy that include measuring Earth’s size with ancient techniques

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Overview

  • The solstice occurred at 04:42 UTC on June 21, officially inaugurating astronomical summer in the Northern Hemisphere.
  • In Italy the Sun rose at 05:36 and set at 20:51, providing 15 hours and 15 minutes of uninterrupted daylight.
  • Earth’s 23.5° axial tilt placed the Sun at its northernmost point above the celestial equator before it began its southward return.
  • Just before dawn on June 22, skywatchers can view a waning crescent Moon alongside Venus in the Aries constellation.
  • The Unione Astrofili Italiani’s ‘Welcome Summer! Sun Day’ program includes a 13:13 ceremony in Ravenna replicating Eratosthenes’s third-century method of measuring Earth by a sundial’s shadow.