SUMMER SOLSTICE
The thunderstorms of June and July, a total lunar eclipse and other astronomical wonders of the summer night sky.
SEASONS
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By Fred Schad
A remarkable meeting of planets is coming to an
area near you.
I try to speak as an advocate for each season. Perhaps as
you read this you're wiping the sweat from your brow and
feeling enervated by yet another summer day of heat and
humidity. If so, cheer up June and July are months of roses
and berries, weddings and vacations, the living world at
the height of its life. According to author Guy Ottewell,
summer has a historic importance as well. Here's what he
has to say in The Astronomical Companion
(Astronomical Workshop; 1986): "Summer seems to be
the oldest word [of the four names of the seasons in
English], traceable back to the proto-Indo-European, and
used not only for half the year but for a whole year, much
as day stands for the day-night cycle; and we
still understand such phrases as `Many summers ago ....'
The cycle is counted by its peaks, its recurrent flashes of
light." Summer is the peak by which we count and remember
the year.
Seasons and Calendar
What marks the beginning of summer? Some may believe it's
the annual dragging out of the barbeque grill. Others may
feel it's the first dip in the local lake. In the most
technical terms, however, the answer is "summer solstice."
This is the time in Earth's year-long orbit when the
northern half of our planet is most tilted towards the Sun.
Thus, even though Earth is a little farther from the Sun in
July than in January (see page 20 for almanac's "aphelion"
on July 4), that isn't as important to us in the Northern
Hemisphere as the fact that we are more tilted towards the
Sun. Being more tilted means the Sun passes higher in our
sky, making days longer. Unfortunately it also means the
amount of solar radiation we receive is much greater.
Diagrams for dusk and dawn show scenes about
45-minutes after sunset or before sunrise,as viewed from
40' north latitude (approximately correct for the United
States or southern Canada). "Age" of the moon is amount of
time since New Moon.
—Adapted from
Sky Calendar, Abrams Planetarium, Michigan State
University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824.
Summer's Tributes
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