According to the calculations of the National Astronomical Observatory, the summer of 2014 will begin in Spain at exactly 12:51 (peninsular time) on Saturday, June 21 , at the same time that winter begins in the other half of the planet.
In the case of the summer solstice, the opposite occurs to the winter solstice: the arrival of the season is marked by the moment when the Sun reaches its northernmost position on the ecliptic . The ecliptic is the imaginary line drawn by the Sun in the sky on its “apparent” path from north to south, which is actually the result of the translational movement of our planet and not of the star king. The astronomical beginning of spring and autumn, however, corresponds to the moment when the Sun is located at the two points (Aries and Libra) where the ecliptic converges with another imaginary line: the celestial equator. In no case, the arrival of the seasons has to do with the distance that separates the Sun and the Earth, as is often believed.
Next Saturday, therefore, the Sun will reach its maximum north declination (+ 23º 27 ‘) and for several days its maximum height at noon will not change; hence the name of solstice, which means “still sun”. On the other hand, the day of the summer solstice is the longest of the year, reaching 15 hours of light in the interior of the country, compared to the scarce 9 that lasted on the day of the winter solstice. In the days close to July 4 there will also be the maximum annual distance (aphelion) between the Earth and the Sun.
Starting on Saturday, we can officially enjoy the season in which headaches, food poisoning, infections and circulatory problems increase.
