This year’s summer solstice is the earliest since 1796
The summary discusses an unusual astronomical event: this year’s summer solstice, early by historical standards and the earliest since 1796. The summer solstice, marking the day with the most hours of daylight and the start of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, is happening earlier each year and is predicted to continue doing so through the end of the millennium. During the solstice, the sun will rise and set at its most extreme northeastern and northwestern points. The text provides historical context by linking the year 1796 to significant political events, including George Washington’s farewell address and the presidential race between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.
This year’s summer solstice is the earliest in 228 years.
The summer solstice marks the day of the year with the most hours of daylight and the beginning of summer — it’s set to get earlier and earlier each year until the end of the millennium. In the Northern Hemisphere, the summer solstice is marked by the time when the sun rises and sets at its most northeasterly and northwesterly points during the year.
This year’s solstice is the earliest since 1796: the same year George Washington said his farewell address and John Adams beat Thomas Jefferson in the presidential race. The summer solstice can occur between June 20-22, but this is the first time it has fallen on the 20th since June 20, 1796. It will continue to happen 45-50 minutes earlier until the next century.
The date will continue to shift earlier and earlier because the Gregorian calendar divides one year into 365 days. However, that calculation is slightly off from Earth’s actual full orbital time around the sun, which is 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 45 seconds. Every four years, Leap Day corrects that.
To account for the slightly off math, even with leap years, the calendar resets by skipping leap day every four centuries. The next reset is due in the year 2100, which means every successive leap year from now until 2100 will be the earliest solstice since 1796 by 45 minutes.
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The actual solstice occurs at the precise moment when the sun is at its highest point in the sky each year and directly above the Tropic of Cancer. This year, that will be at 4:50 p.m. ET.
On next year’s summer solstice, which will fall on June 25, a Strawberry Moon will appear, which is the lowest full moon of the year, according to Live Science.
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