How To Watch Today's June Solstice Live From Stonehenge

Jun 20, 2020,10:23am EDT

Valerie Stimac Contributor



Sun rising over Stonehenge, Wiltshire, United Kingdom GETTY

Every year, thousands of people flock to the English countryside to mark the celestial calendar in a place you’ve probably heard about – even if you’ve never visited: Stonehenge.

Erected sometime around 2500 BC, Stonehenge is one a feat of human engineering in the prehistoric era. Scientists, historians, and others have all come up with theories to explain how the 25-30 ton stones were transported and arranged so precisely into the now iconic stone circles at the site.

Because the stones at Stonehenge aren’t just masterfully engineered – they’re precisely aligned with the astronomical calendar. Each year, the sunrise on the summer (June) and winter (December) solstices rises precisely in alignment with a set of stones at Stonehenge; historians now believe the site was used to mark the seasons by the agricultural peoples who once lived in this part of Britain.

This year’s summer solstice is set to take place at 10:43 pm GMT on June 20 (5:43 pm EDT / 2:43 pm PDT), at the point when the earth’s northern pole is most tipped toward the sun. This marks the longest day and shortest night of the year for the northern hemisphere – an important day for prehistoric farmers and herders whose livelihood relied on an understanding of the seasons in the time before watches and calendars.

More:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/valeriestimac/2020/06/20/how-to-watch-todays-june-solstice-live-from-stonehenge/#2919162c596d