Happy summer!

The summer solstice is here! The shortest nights of the year are upon us.

Astronomical summer began at 6:07 a.m. EDT or 10:07 a.m. Universal Time Thursday morning. While the shortest night of the year occurs on the solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset does not.

The latest sunset and earliest sunrise varies quite a bit across the globe. Graphic courtesy of Brian Brettschneider. Read his article about the length of daylight on the summer solstice.

It is complicated to explain exactly why the sunset is so much different. The main reason is the fact that the Earth's orbit is an ellipse and not a perfect circle. Therefore, this time of year solar noon occurs later and later each day. This pushes the latest sunset back to the end of the month or early July.

The summer solstice is not exactly an event that is celebrated in astronomy circles, unless you are in the Southern Hemisphere. However, we know can look forward to longer nights and more time to stargaze, even if it takes those nights a little longer to arrive over the next few days.