Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey
Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Bolga Baum here. On June, the Northern
Speaker 1: Hemisphere experienced its longest day of the year, the day
Speaker 1: when the North Pole is leaning most towards the sun.
Speaker 1: This year, that took place at two pm Eastern Time.
Speaker 1: This annual event is called the summer solstice. For those
Speaker 1: of us in the Northern Hemisphere. It's the day of
Speaker 1: the year that the Arctic Circle receives a full twenty
Speaker 1: four hours of sunlight. The Arctic Circle is a moving
Speaker 1: area whose parameters are dictated by the solstices. Scientists define
Speaker 1: this expanse to quote the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
Speaker 1: as the latitude above which the sun does not set
Speaker 1: on the summer solstice and does not rise on the
Speaker 1: winter solstice. So during the June solstice, the entire circle
Speaker 1: goes through twenty four straight hours of sunlight. Can firstly,
Speaker 1: it has to endure a full day of darkness when
Speaker 1: the December solstice comes around. The tourists in the far
Speaker 1: North flock to watch the sun blazing at midnight on
Speaker 1: every June solstice. This is also the day in which
Speaker 1: the sun reaches its highest point above the horizon. At noon,
Speaker 1: the sun was directly over the Tropic of Cancer. That's
Speaker 1: a latitudinal line located about twenty three point five degrees
Speaker 1: north of the equator. A similar phenomenon takes place on
Speaker 1: the December solstice, when the sun hits the Tropic of Capricorn,
Speaker 1: a southern line located twenty three point five degrees below
Speaker 1: the equator. These numbers line up so cleanly because of
Speaker 1: the tilt of the Earth on its axis, which is
Speaker 1: twenty three point five degrees. But Earth's axial tilt shifts
Speaker 1: incrementally over time. But right now, the Arctic Circle is
Speaker 1: located a little higher than sixty six degrees above the equator,
Speaker 1: but it's creeping northward at a rate of about forty
Speaker 1: five to forty nine feet that's fourteen to fifteen meters
Speaker 1: per air. So travelers in the distant future will need
Speaker 1: to adjust their plans accordingly if they hope to catch
Speaker 1: that midnight sun. For the same reason, the name Tropic
Speaker 1: of Cancer is now an anachronism. This term references the
Speaker 1: fact that two thousand years ago, the Sun used to
Speaker 1: cross in front of the constellation Cancer on the day
Speaker 1: of the June solstice, it now shines closer to Taurus instead. However,
Speaker 1: although no other date on the calendar witnesses more sunlight
Speaker 1: than the summer solstice, this is not the hottest day
Speaker 1: of the year for most of us in the northern Hemisphere.
Speaker 1: It's true that the days up here get progressively shorter
Speaker 1: after the solstice. However, for several weeks in June, July,
Speaker 1: and August, the hemisphere will still receive more heat during
Speaker 1: the day than it loses at night. That's why temperatures
Speaker 1: in the northern half of the globe can to climb
Speaker 1: in mid to late summer despite their being slightly less
Speaker 1: daylight to go around, and this is because it takes
Speaker 1: a few months your winters over the land to begin
Speaker 1: storing heat. Most states in the continental US will experience
Speaker 1: their hottest day of any given year at some point
Speaker 1: between early July and mid August. In parts of the
Speaker 1: West Coast, the hottest days are typically in September. Not
Speaker 1: all planets have similar spreads of seasons and solstices, though,
Speaker 1: for example, Urness has a mind blowing degree axial tilt.
Speaker 1: Because of this and the fact that it takes the
Speaker 1: planet about eighty four earth years to make one rotation
Speaker 1: around the sun. The seasons are staggeringly long there. The
Speaker 1: last summer solstice in Urnaes northern hemisphere took place in
Speaker 1: and the north next winter solstice won't come until Compare
Speaker 1: that with Earth, which sees the solstice every six months.
Speaker 1: Today's episode is based on the article five things you
Speaker 1: didn't know about the Summer Solstice on House to works
Speaker 1: dot com, written by Mark Mancini. Brain Stuff is production
Speaker 1: by Heart Radio and partnership with house at works dot
Speaker 1: Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts
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