Monday 21^st was the June Solstice and is the day when the midday Sun here at Ascension will be at its lowest point in the sky, as the Sun is directly overhead the Tropic of Cancer.  The word ‘solstice’ comes from the Latin, Sol meaning ‘Sun’ and Sistere, meaning ‘to stand still’, so it is the point at which the Sun stops moving north and begins to return south again.   Celebrations on this day have happened since ancient times.

In the UK, midsummer is often celebrated with thousands of people gathering at Stonehenge to watch the sunrise and then enjoying the long, sunny summer evenings.   In Nebraska there is even a ‘Car-Henge’ which is a replica of Stonehenge made from vintage cars!  In many countries midsummer is celebrated with the lighting of bonfires.

But spare a thought for those in the Falklands celebrating with a mid-winter swim at Surf Bay!  Brrrr.  Or those in the Antarctic, where the sun doesn’t rise above the horizon all day and tradition requires a mid-winter naked run around the station, or even a race on the thin seaice. So if this is the time of year when the Sun is furthest away to the north, why are the coolest days not until September?  Well as we are so near the equator the change in the Sun’s intensity is only relatively slight and our climate is largely affected by the sea temperatures.  The ocean is very slow to cool down and we are of course surrounded by a lot of ocean!