Amman, June 12 (Petra) -- The summer solstice, marking the official start of the summer season in the Northern Hemisphere, is expected to occur this year on Saturday, June 21, according to astronomer Emad Mujahid, a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and a member of the Arab Union for Astronomy and Space Sciences.

Astronomical calculations indicate that at exactly 5:42 a.m. local time, the sun will be positioned directly overhead the Tropic of Cancer at approximately 23.5 degrees north of the equator. This marks the sun’s highest apparent position in the sky throughout the year.

On the day of the solstice, the sun will rise at 5:24 a.m. from its farthest point in the northeast, at an azimuth of 61 degrees, 44 minutes, and 31 seconds, and will set at 7:53 p.m. at its farthest point in the northwest, at an azimuth of 298 degrees, 46 minutes, and 8 seconds. The result is 14 hours and 29 minutes of daylight, the longest day of the year, and 9 hours and 31 minutes of night, the shortest night.

With the conclusion of spring, which spanned 93 days, the summer season beginning on Saturday will last 94 days.

Mujahid noted that the solstice is associated with intense heat in the Northern Hemisphere due to the near-vertical angle of solar radiation. In contrast, the Southern Hemisphere will mark the beginning of winter, experiencing its shortest day and longest night of the year.

He added that the South Pole will remain in continuous darkness during this period, as the sun does not rise there at all, while the North Pole will experience constant daylight until the autumnal equinox in September.

Following the solstice, the sun’s apparent movement will gradually shift southward. This shift will result in a gradual decline in temperatures as the sun moves toward the equator, where it will be directly overhead again on September 23, coinciding with the autumnal equinox, when day and night are of equal length worldwide.

//Petra// RZ

12/06/2025 11:34:56