Celebrate the Summer Solstice!

Summer Solstice – June 20, 2024 from 1pm to 3 pm
The summer solstice for the Ridgecrest area will be on Thursday, June 20, 2024, at 1:51 pm.
You’re invited to celebrate this event at the Maturango Museum from 1 pm to 3 pm on the same
day. To celebrate the Summer Solstice, we will be making pressed flower bookmarks.
The summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere marks the beginning of summer and is the
longest day and shortest night of the year. On this day, the number of hours of daylight is at its
maximum, while the number of hours of night is at its minimum. In the Southern Hemisphere,
June 20 marks the shortest day of the year and the longest night. It’s important to note that the
summer solstice is not just a day but an exact moment in time that falls upon that day. This
moment occurs when whichever hemisphere you’re in is most tilted toward the Sun. For us, that
moment will be at 1:51 pm on June 20th.
The Earth rotates on its axis once each day, producing the cycle of day and night. And over a
year, the Earth travels around the Sun. However, the axis of rotation of the Earth is not aligned
with the axis of motion around the Sun. Instead, the Earth is tilted slightly at 23.44 degrees. This
tilt means that during one half of the year, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted slightly towards the
Sun and the Southern Hemisphere is tilted away. For the other half of the year, the reverse is
true.