Hey Ray! Explaining What The Summer Solstice Means

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Today, at 5:43pm is the Summer Solstice, so what does that really mean?

Well, we know that as the earth orbits the sun over the course of the year, giving us our different seasons, and we know some of these seasons are hotter, and others colder than others.

These differences occur because of the Earth's 23.5 degree tilt.

Now, in space there's no up, down, left or right, so the Earth's tilt is in relation to its axis on the Orbital Plane.

Orbital Plane is a fancy way to say its "path around the sun."

Since the direction of the 23.5 degree tilt doesn't change on that path, there are times when the northern hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, which is our Summer time and the warmest part of our year.

There are other times when it is tilted away from the sun, which is our winter and coldest time of the year.

Fall and Spring are the times where we have our equinoxes.

The tilt, on the orbital plane is still 23.5 degrees, but in relation to the sun, there's no tilt, giving equal daylight pretty much planet wide.

Back in March, spring began.

This is officially called the Vernal Equinox.

The center of the sun passed right over the equator.

Since the center of the sun is directly over the center of the earth, this gives us equal 12 hours of daylight pretty much across the planet.

That is the equinox.

Since that moment, you may have noticed our daytime getting longer and longer.

That is because the center of the sun has been moving northward, toward us, and will continue that until the summer solstice when it reaches the Tropic of Cancer, which is 23.5 degree North Latitude. (Remember that 23.5 degree tilt of the Earth I mentioned earlier?)

This gives the longest day of the year for the northern hemisphere, and the shortest day of the year for the southern hemisphere.

While it is the start of our summer season, this begins the winter months for the southern hemisphere.

After the Summer Solstice at 5:43pm, the daytime will start getting shorter, as we head toward fall.

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