2021’s longest day today

MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos will experience the longest day of the year during the summer solstice today, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

“Philippine nights are at their shortest and daytimes are at their longest during the summer solstice,” PAGASA said in its monthly astronomical diary.

“This is the time when the Sun attains its greatest declination of +23.5 degrees and passes directly overhead at noon for all observers at latitude 23.5 degrees North, which is known as the Tropic of Cancer. This event marks the start of the apparent southward movement of the Sun in the ecliptic,” it said.

In Manila, the sun will rise at 5:28 a.m. and set at 6:27 p.m., for a total of 12 hours and 59 minutes of daylight, according to the website timeanddate.com.

In some countries, people mark the summer solstice with festivities.

In Wiltshire, England, thousands of people visit Stonehenge, Britain’s most iconic archaeological site, to catch the sunrise.

However, the summer solstice gathering at Stonehenge was cancelled again this year, following a decision by the British government to extend COVID-19 lockdown measures.

The event brings up to 30,000 people to Stonehenge every year, according to reports.

The term “solstice” comes from the Latin word “solstitium,” which means “sun standing still.”