Summer Solstice Monday, June 20. 6:34 p.m. EDT,
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6:34 p.m. EDT,
Wikipedia
Earliest Summer Solstice in 120 Years
Farmer's Almanac
In the Northern Hemisphere, summer officially begins on Monday, June 20, 2016, at 6:34 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, the earliest that the solstice has occurred in 120 years.*
Will Summer’s Heat Start the Same Day?
As astronomy books explain, the plane of the Earth’s Equator is tilted 23.5 degrees to our orbit around the Sun. During the year varying amounts of sunlight strike different regions of the planet. Both the angle of incidence of the radiation and the length of daylight change significantly.
If the insolation – the total energy received from the Sun – alone governed the temperature, we should now be experiencing the year’s hottest weather. But the atmosphere in temperate regions continues to receive more heat than it gives up to space, a situation that lasts several weeks or more.
A reverse process occurs after the winter solstice in late December. Thus, there is a temperature lag of about a month: our hottest weather usually comes in late July and our coldest in late January.Another factor is the Sun’s path across the sky and the number of hours it is above the horizon.
Less than 12 hours before the occurrence of the solstice, the Moon officially turns full at 7:02 a.m.(June 20, 2016) EDT making it the fourth and final Full Moon of the spring season. Each month’s Full moon has a name and a meaning, dating back to Native Americans.
June’s full moon is called the “Strawberry” Moon because the short season during which strawberries can be harvested happens in June. However, strawberries aren’t native in Europe. There, June’s full moon is called the “Rose” Moon.
June’s full moon is sometimes also called a “Honey Moon” because of the hazy skies that tends to be prevalent at this time of year which loans itself to giving the Moon an amber or golden appearance. The word “honeymoon” refers to marriage’s sweetness, but it’s also interesting that June is the most popular month to get married and, as a result, many couples take their honeymoons during the month of the “Honey Moon.”
*In 2012, summer did arrive on June 20th but at 7:08 pm EDT, and in 1896, the solstice arrived on June 20th at 6:27 p.m. EDT, just four minutes earlier than this year. In 2020, the solstice will arrive on June 20th at 5:43 p.m. EDT, which will be the earliest that summer officially has begun dating back to 1796!