Astronomy Picture for Today

nasa ^ | 06/21/2006 | dg

[HOTTIEBOY]

Sunrise Solstice at Stonehenge
Credit & Copyright: Pete Strasser (Tucson, Arizona, USA)

Today the Sun reaches its northernmost point in the planet Earth's sky. Called a solstice, the date traditionally marks a change of seasons -- from spring to summer in Earth's Northern Hemisphere and from fall to winter in Earth's Southern Hemisphere. Pictured above is the 2005 Summer Solstice celebration at Stonehenge in England. The event was rare because Stonehenge was not always open to the public, and because recent summer solstices there had been annoyingly cloudy. In 2005, however, thousands of people gathered at sunrise to see the sun rise through the 4,000 year old solar monument. Due to the precession of the Earth's orbital axis over the millennia, the Sun no longer rises over Stonehenge in an astronomically significant way, although the photographer was able to find a good spot where the rising Sun appeared over one of Stonehenge's massive standing stones.




Sunrise by Season
Credit & Copyright: Anthony Ayiomamitis

Does the Sun always rise in the same direction? No. As the seasons change, the direction toward the rising Sun will change, too. The Sun will always rise and set furthest to the south during the day of Winter Solstice, and furthest to the north during Summer Solstice. Today is Winter Solstice, the day of least sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere and of most sunlight in the Southern Hemisphere. In many countries, the Winter Solstice brings a change in season, as it is the first day of winter in the North. The solar heating and stored energy in the Earth's surface and atmosphere is near its lowest during winter, making it usually the coldest months of the year. On the brighter side in the north, daylight hours will increase every day from now until June. Pictured above are the different directions of the rising sun throughout the year above a small town in Greece.

[HOTTIEBOY]

If June 21 is the day when we receive the most sunshine, why is it regarded as the beginning of summer and not its peak? And similarly, why is December 21, the day of least sunshine, the beginning of winter and not mid-winter day?
Blame the oceans, which heat up and cool down only slowly. By June 21 they are still cool from the winter time, and that delays the peak heat by about a month and a half. Similarly, in December the water still holds warmth from the summer, and the coldest days are still (on the average--not always! ) a month and a half ahead.
And what about our distance from the Sun? It, too, varies, because the Earth's orbit around the Sun isn't an exact circle. We are closest to the Sun--would you believe it? --in the cold wintertime, around January 3-5.

[HOTTIEBOY]

[RightWhale]

Today the days begin to become shorter. This is probably the peak of the summer growing season right now, much of the flowering being done already and development of the ears of corn and other vegetable edibles well underway, to continue for another month. Growing season started seriously a couple weeks ago, which means that we get maybe two months of farming and gardening activities before winter starts to bite us again.

[Kenny Bunkport]

As an amateur astronomer (hobbyist, really), I'll be glad to see dark skies every earlier in the evening.

[Mrs. Darla Ruth Schwerin]

That is too, pretty! My daughter visited Stonehenge and the tour guide told her all about the massive rocks and how they were brought there, from up to 200 miles away!...

[sig226]

Should I start singing the Spinal Tap song? :)

[SunkenCiv]

Stonehenge photo, so it's sort of a GGG topic.

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[CobaltBlue]

maybe two months of farming and gardening activities before winter starts to bite us again.

I just finished buying my fall seeds and am now planning my late summer and fall plantings!

Cole crops like broccoli, broccoli raab, cabbage, brussels sprouts. Bok choy and spinach and beets. Lettuce. And best of all, garlic.

[RightWhale]

The cabbage family doesn't make it through the growing season unless I station myself or the dog in the garden to discourage moose. Last time I tried brussels sprouts and cauliflower, which is great when fresh-picked, I went out with sack and knife and found bare ground where just hours before the crop was just right and ready. Clipped off at ground level--all of it.

[Dustbunny]

Thanks for the pics. Nothing like pics for those of us who are house bound.

[Salamander]

Only if your amp goes to 11......:)

[CobaltBlue]

Moose? Well, moose would certainly be a problem.

[Salamander]

Did you catch the Tv special called "Rebuilding Stonehenge", by any chance?

The reconstructed it exactly using huge styrofoam blocks covered in concrete to mimic the stone, set the whole thing up on the plain and discovered a lot of *really* disturbing acoustic anomalies and that it was most likely built for the -winter- solstice; not the summer solstice.

Fascinating 2 hours of TV.

[RightWhale]

Rabbits, too. They drive the dog crazy and eat the bark off the birch. If I say rabbit, even indoors, the dog puts his ears back and starts looking all around.

[Sawdring]

Hah, we had the same problem with deer around my parents house. Whenever I said Deer, my dog would get all excited and start looking around for one to chase. She chased a lot of them and they would always run away and she would not catch them. One morning I called for her and heard her yelping and growling. I found her running in circles just inside the woods and couldn't figure out why. I called her and she came bolting out into the yard and a doe came chasing after her. The deer was about 15 feet from me when I shouted at it and it looked up, saw me and then bolted back into the woods. I don't think my Collie likes to chase deer anymore.