Each year, the timing of the solstice depends on
when the Sun's rays reaches its farthest point North of the equator at a 90°
angle. This "Point" is 23½° above the
Equator and known as the Tropic Cancer. This occurs annually
on June 20 or June 21 in North America, depending on your time zone.
In temperate regions, we notice that the Sun is
higher in the sky throughout the day, and its rays strike Earth at a more
direct angle, causing the efficient warming we call summer. In the winter,
just the opposite occurs: The Sun is at its southernmost point and is low in
the sky. Its rays hit the Northern Hemisphere at an oblique angle, creating
the feeble winter sunlight.
The Sun is directly overhead at its most northern
point at "high-noon" on the summer solstice, creating more sunlight in the
Northern Hemisphere on this day then any other.
