Happy SUMMER SOLSTICE!
Today, June 20th, marks the 2008 Summer solstice (or Winter solstice for those of you South of Earth’s equator). This is the first time since 1896 - 112 years - that the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere has occurred before June 21. To kick off the official summer season, we at TrekMovie have provided a list of 10 facts surrounding the Summer Solstice. Summers are hot not because Earth is closer to the sun, but because the tilt of the Earth’s axis lets rays of sunlight hit one hemisphere more directly. During the Northern Hemisphere’s summer, we’re actually farthest from the sun, receiving 7 percent less sunlight than the Southern Hemisphere does during its summer. The summer solstice—June 20 this year—is the Northern Hemisphere’s longest day, with 24 hours of unbroken sunlight north of the Arctic Circle. For obsessive-compulsives: The site www.archaeoastronomy.com maintains a second-by-second countdown to each solstice. The Tropic of Cancer—the latitude on Earth where the su