What is the Summer Solstice? It Means A Long Day for Baldwin Park

By Patch Staff:

You may or may not know that today, June 21, is the 2013 summer solstice.

You have probably heard the words summer solstice a few hundred times. But do you actually know what the term means? Let Patch be your dictionary.

The summer solstice is more famously known as the first day of summer. But it's also known as the longest day of the year. This doesn't mean we get more than 24 hours in the day. The June solstice means those living in the northern hemisphere get extra hours of daylight. 

The solstice occurs when the sun is at its furthest point from the equator, according to Timeanddate.com.

"It reaches its northernmost point and the Earth’s North Pole tilts directly towards the sun, at about 23.5 degrees," according to the site. 

If you're looking to celebrate the exact moment of this year's summer solstice, you actually should have taken your celebratory shot at 10:04 p.m June 20. But the solstice is universally welcomed at 5:04 a.m. in each time zone.

Careful not to mark your calendar for a June 21 celebration every year though, as the solstice can change slightly with our 365-day year not perfectly matching the universe's plan for planetary permutation.

If you want to learn more about the solstice, visit TimeandDate.com Summer Solstice page. The site has several enough background to answer almost any question.

Are you doing anything to celebrate the most sunlight of the year? Tell us in the comments and happy summer solstice!