“Solstices occur twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth’s axis is most oriented toward or away from the Sun, causing the Sun to reach its northernmost and southernmost extremes. The name is derived from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because at the solstices, the Sun stands still in declination; that is, its apparent movement north or south comes to a standstill.
Summer begins on June 20th in 2008 in the Northern Hemisphere. The seasons are considered by some Western countries to start at theequinoxes and solstices, based on astronomical reckoning.”
