I hope you’re enjoying the last weekend of spring 2024. To quote the ’70s poet and rock star Steve Miller, “Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’ into the future.” Get ready to welcome the summer officially! This Thursday afternoon at 3:51, we’ll be marking the start of the season with the summer solstice, a momentous astronomical event.
The sun reaches its northernmost position in our celestial dome at the summer solstice. Because of this, the sun takes the longest, highest arc across our sky, providing us with a maximum of 15 hours and nearly 37 minutes of official daylight, from sunrise to sunset. On Thursday at midday the sun will achieve a maximum altitude of 68 and a half degrees above the southern horizon.
At that time, as you stand in the sun, you’ll cast the shortest shadow of the year. That’ll happen around 1:14 p.m.
because of Daylight Saving Time and our particular longitude in the Twin Cities. I know you don’t want to hear this, but from now until the winter solstice in late December, our daylight hours gradually decline ..
. Sorry! The summer solstice brings with it the longest days of the year, which means the shortest nights for us stargazers. This can be a challenge, especially with the longer twilight time this time of year.
It’s not dark enough for decent stargazing until well after 10 p.m. An afternoon nap is needed, at least for old star-geezers like me.
But once it finally gets dark, what’s left of the spring constellations .
