Summer solstice is the first day of summer each year and it occurs around June 21st in the Northern 
Hemisphere(December 21st in the Southern Hemisphere). The winter solstice is the first day of winter and occurs around December 21 in the Northern Hemisphere. (June 21 in the Southern Hemisphere).
Starting at winter solstice to summer solstice, days increase in daylight. In other words, the Sun rises earlier and sets later making the daylight period of each day longer. From summer solstice to winter solstice, days decrease in daylight. Even though the days preceding and following summer solstice (as well as the winter solstice) may all be exactly the same length, the summer solstice is the marking point for the change in daylight length and as such is called the longest day of the year. Actually, to be more scientifically correct it should be called the longest day of daylight. The same is true for the winter solstice with it being the shortest day of daylight each year.
In 2009, in the Northern Hemisphere, summer solstice is
TODAY–June 21. This is also Father’s Day, so let your Dad know how special he is to you.
For information about why days change in length of daylight, see SUMMER SOLSTICE.
For more information about the movements of the Earth, including rotation and revolution, and how they affect seasons, see Janice VanCleave’s Geography for Every Kid.
Geography is a branch of science that encompasses all aspects of the earth’s physical features and inhabitants. It is the study of almost anything about the earth–the distribution of its people, animals, and plants; land, sea, and air features; weather conditions–the list goes on. The difference between the study of geography and other sciences is that geography examines its subjects from a perspective of where they are located and what relatinship they have with the things around them. Other sciences tend to focus on subjects individually.
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