Summer Solstice 2019: When Is It? What Is It? Everything You Need To Know!

Lets all say farewell to Spring, and hello to Summer! That is, if it stops raining of course. Today’s Summer Solstice marks the beginning of a new season for the Northern and Southern Hemisphere which will begin at 11:54 a.m. ET bringing summer up north and winter down south.

Solstices occur because of the rotation of the Earth. Once it’s axis is tilted about 23.4 degrees relative to Earth’s orbit around the sun, a solstice occurs. This tilt is what initiates Earth’s seasons since the Northern and Southern Hemisphere get unequal amounts sunlight over the course of a year. While from March to September the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun giving us Spring and Summer, the Southern Hemisphere is tilted further away as they experience the autumn and winter seasons and vise versa.

On two moments each year, or what we refer to as solstices, Earth’s axis is tilted closer to the Sun. The hemisphere titled most toward our home star sees its longest day, while the hemisphere tilted away from the sun sees its longest night. Earth makes its closest annual approach of the Sun about two weeks after the winter solstice in December, and is farthest from the Sun two weeks after the summer solstice in June.

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Earth, however, is not the only planet with solstices. Any plant with a tilted rotational axis would see them too; in fact, planetary scientists use solstices and equinoxes to define seasons for other planets in our solar system. Other planets’ seasons don’t climatically equal those on Earth, though. Their axial tilts and circular orbits effect the planets’ seasonal temperature.

For many, the summer solstice is complete with a trip to the beach or a nice dinner to soak up all the sunlight, but some charitable organizations take advantage of the extra bright hours to raise awareness for their cause. In June, the Alzheimer’s Association celebrates “The Longest Day” with fundraisers around the country. Rising country star Jay Allen is celebrating the summer solstice by performing his hit song “Blank Stares” in Virginia Beach in honor of his mom Sherry Rich, who passed away from Alzheimer’s earlier this year. He will then hop on a plane to San Diego to perform the same song at 7 p.m.