SUMMER has kicked in!! 🌞🌞🌞

The month of June is originated from the Roman goddess Juno, patroness of marriage and the well-being of women. Also from the Latin word juvenis, “young people”. The solstice on Thursday, June 20, 2024, happens at the same instant for all of us, everywhere on Earth; only our clocks are different. In the eastern United States, the solstice occurs at 4:51 P.M. EDT.

Sure, you may know that the summer solstice is the “longest” day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. But that is a tired factoid. Let’s learn something new! Here’s a fun quiz to see how much you know already and how much you can learn.

 

SUMMER SOLSTICE QUIZ

    1.   How often do solstices happen in a year ? ___________

 

    2.   Where does the word solstice come from? (hint: Latin words) ______________

 

    3.   Does the solstice occur at the same time or at different times across the world? ________________________

 

    4.   Is the June solstice always on June 21^st? ________________________

 

    5.   Is the June solstice the first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere? _______________________________

 

    6.   On the solstice, is the Earth the closest or farthest from the Sun?

 

7.   Does the earliest sunrise happen on the summer solstice?

 

8.   Is it the longest day of the year everywhere on Earth?

 

9.   On the summer solstice, the Sun reaches its most northernmost position in the sky. It is called the Tropic of ________________.

 

    10. Why isn’t the summer solstice the hottest day of the year? It is because it takes a few more weeks for the ___________________ and air to warm up.

 

    11. As for the Sun’s visible emissions, its strongest is the _____________ light. That is why our eyes are maximally sensitive to that color.

 

    12. The kind of energy the Sun emits most strongly is not ultraviolet, gamma rays, or even visible light. It is actually _________________ which is the Sun’s strongest emission and the kind we feel as heat.

 

*source from the Old Farmer's Almanac 2024

 

Answer Keys

    1.  Twice a year (June and December)

    2.  Latin word “sol” (meaning Sun) & “sister” (meaning to come to a stop or stand still)

    3.  The exact same instant of time

    4.  Usually, but can range from June 20 to June 22

    5.  To astronomers, yes. But meteorologist, it’s June 1^st.

    6.  Farthest! It is NOT the DISTANCE but EARTH’s TILT that matters.

    7.  Nope. Neither the earliest sunrise nor the latest sunsets are on this day.

    8.  No, it is the longest day of the year only in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere. Thus, it is the shortest day of the year in the Southern Hemisphere.

    9.  On the summer summer solstice, the Sun is directly overhead the Tropic of Cancer.

    10. the oceans

    11. green

    12. infrared