Sunday, June 20, 2010

The Long & The Short of It ~ Happy Summer Solstice

June 21st...Summer Solstice!  
The longest "day" of the year.  
The first day of summer.  

The day when we have the maximum hours of sunlight due to the Earth's placement in it's orbit and the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer at noon.  In Latin, "solstice" stands for "the sun stands still" which is exactly what it feels like when you are 4 or 8 and have so much time for outdoor fun, even well past what was bedtime during the school year.  In fact, to the average 4 or 8 year old, the scientific details mean little.  What's more important is that it's the first day of summer, and the hours of sunlight ahead make it feel like the best day of the year!!  

Take time today to celebrate solar power and the energy that the sun gives to you today!  Stay up late, hang out outside, and then top it off by catching some lightning bugs when the sun finally decides to set! 

Solar power at its finest!!   Happy 1st day o'summer!

To find out a bit more about Daylight Appreciation Day and some great facts about harnessing solar energy through solar tubes and more, click on the title above, or go to http://nationaldaylightday.com/

Picture from http://www.eumetsat.int/groups/ops/documents/image/img_news_solstice_scheme.gif

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