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Summer at Stonehenge
In the Northern Hemisphere , the 2011 summertime solstice will take place on Tues . , June 21 at 1:16 p.m. EDT ( 10:16 a.m. PDT ) . At that clip , the sun will reach the point where it ’s utmost northward of the ethereal equator . The solstice will mark the prescribed offset of summertime for the Northern Hemisphere and winter in the Southern Hemisphere . One of the most well - known summer solstice landmarks isStonehenge , the prehistoric monument that stand on the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire , England . The ancient stone circle is consider to be a burial dry land that was arranged to face the midsummer dayspring and midwinter sunset . The above pic of the monument was film during the summertime solstice on June 21 , 2005 .
Floral Offering at Stonehenge
Every summertime solstice , tens of thousands of New Agers , neo - pagan , Wiccansand sun - viewer from all over the Earth forgather at Stonehenge to watch the sun lift over the pit ruins on the long day of the yr . This photo , taken on June 21 , 2010 , shows a ritual consisting of declare oneself flowers to the Dominicus during the summertime solstice as a mode of postulate for health and felicity . Others make fruit " sacrifices " and incinerate candles and incense .
Watching the Skies
The June 20 , 2008 summertime solstice was lionize with fireworks over the tuner telescope post at the Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire East , England . The observatory and planetarium contain one of the world ’s largest fully steerable radio telescope , although thankfully , a giant scope is not required to enjoy the summer solstice .
Shining Through the Trees
The June 20 , 2008 summer solstice sunrise , as seen from the woods of Ontario , Canada .
Solstice Sunrise
This picture was taken during the summer solstice sunrise on June 21 , 2009 , in North Bay , Scarborough , a town on the North Sea slide of North Yorkshire , England .
A ‘Sankt Hans Aften’ Fire
In Denmark , the summer solstice is known as Sankt Hans Aften , which mean " the eve of the 24-hour interval of Saint John the Baptist . " The summertime solstice is celebrate with accustomed songs sung around great attack , which were traditionally built to ward away evil spirit . Originally , the Sankt Hans Aften custom called for visit a " healing well " before making a fire , but that tradition develop as wells stopped being used . Now , Danish people build fire on beach and near bodies of water supply such as lakes and pond . Before Christianity was introduced in Denmark , the summer solstice was apagan holidaythat honor the Dominicus for provide muscularity for plants to grow . Pagan mystics would pick herbs and flowers from the countryside , because they conceive that the summer solstice enhanced plants ' healing properties .
End of the Earth
This time - lapse photo was accept around midnight at Vincennes Bay in Antarctica on Dec 21 , 1996 , which was when the summertime solstice occurred in the southerly Hemisphere that year . Antarctica is roll in the hay as " the land of the midnight Sunday , " and the sun literally does n’t dress during the summertime solstice . [ In Photos : Antarctic Ice]That ’s because , when the Earth ’s axis vertebra points away from the Dominicus from December to March , the Southern Hemisphere enjoys the direct rays . During these months , the sun does n’t move overhead , but appears to go around and around near the horizon throughout the 24 - time of day day cycle . Even at noon , when you ’d expect our close star to be at its gamey , it hover comparatively grim above the northern horizon , and dips near the southerly horizon at midnight .
Candle Night in Japan
In Japan , the summer solstice is celebrated all over the country by lighting millions of candela . During " candle nighttime , " the great unwashed turn off their electric luminousness from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. local time , instead enjoying the warm gleaming of the cd , which lay out equanimity and heartsease . Candle Night first began in Japan in 2003 as an go-ahead to save electricity during the class ’s longest day of sun . This pic was taken in preparation for the 2011 candle night event in Osaka City , Japan ’s third largest metropolis .
Summer Solstice Times Square
How do busy New Yorkers lionise the longest day of the class in the city that never sleeps ? By wind down with a massive yoga class in the heart of Times Square , of course ! Every year , Broadway Plazas between 45th and 47th Streets in Times Square are blockaded off from traffic as thousands of people partake in " summertime solstice yoga . “Organized by theTimes Square Alliance , the loose , all - day event features professional yoga instructors lead classes that " celebrate sun , summer and creative thinking . "
