Summer Solstice 2015

This Sunday, June 21, 2015, is the Summer Solstice, the day when the sun’s highest point is the farthest from the equator. This celestial event means that the north pole is tilted directly at the sun, making the sun set and rise farther north than normal. The result of this change in path is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere (and the shortest in the Southern), and the signaling that Summer has finally begun. Cultures all around the world have festivals revolving around the event, with a great deal of ancient monuments being devoted to the tracking of the solstices; one of the oldest examples would be Scotland’s Stonehenge. That being said, the solstice only marks the astronomical change of seasons, rather than the meteorological turning point. As many locations in North America can attest, Summer weather is well underway, with the solstice acting as more of a “middle mark” for the contemporary understanding of the season. According to timeanddate.com, for this Summer solstice, East Tennessee is expected to see sunrise at 6:19 AM and sunset at 8:55 PM, giving the area approximately 14 hours and 36 minutes of daylight.