Summer solstice 2021, today is the longest day of the year

Today, June 21, is the summer solstice. It is the longest day of the year that will last 15 hours and 14 minutes, as the Italian Amateur Astronomers Union (Uai) notes because the Sun rose at 5.37 and will set at 20.51. At noon of the solar time (or at one of the summer time currently in force) the sun reaches the point of maximum elevation on the horizon. The height reached by the Sun depends on the latitude: in Rome at the peak it reaches about 71 ° 30 ‘. In Milan the maximum height is 68 ° (3 ° 30 ‘lower than in Rome), while in Palermo it exceeds 75 °. In the course of a year, the solstice occurs twice, when the Sun reaches its maximum value of positive declination in the month of June, and marks the beginning of the northern summer and the austral winter, and negative in December, when it marks the beginning of the northern winter and the austral summer.In ancient times the summer solstice, representing the beginning of the beautiful, hot and sunny season, has always been an occasion for celebrations, like the Litha in neo-paganism or the Christian nativity Giovanni Battista, so-called “St. John’s Night” or “Midsummer Night”.