A raw deal for our nocturnal friends, but lucky for us!
National Geographic: Ker Than
The summer solstice is recognized and often celebrated in many cultures around the world, in both the past and present. The ancient Egyptians, for example, built the Great Pyramids so that the solstice sunset, when viewed from the Sphinx, sets precisely between two of the Pyramids.
The Inca of South America celebrated the summer solstice with a ceremony called Inti Raymi, which included food offerings and sacrifices of animals and maybe even people. And perhaps most famously, Stonehenge in the United Kingdom has been associated with the winter and summer solstices for about 5,000 years. Observers in the center of the standing stones can watch the summer solstice sun rise over the Heel Stone, which stands just outside Stonehenge’s stone circles.
For many of the ancients, though, the summer solstice wasn’t just an excuse to party or pray—it was essential to their well-being. Associated with agriculture, the summer solstice was a reminder that a turning point in the growing season had been reached.
“The calendar was very important—much more important than it is now,” said Ricky Patterson, an astronomer at the University of Virginia. “People wanted to know what was going to happen so that they could be ready.”
Do you know what else is really good to do on the day with the most daylight hours of 2010? Watch the Martinez Beavers of course. Since they have the shortest night in which to feed they are likely to risk coming out in the twilight hours and stick around for the morning. Sunset is 8:34. Twilight is civil 9:06. Nautical twilight 9:45. Astronomical twilight 10:30. You can bet worth a dam will be there to keep track of their pagan festivities.
There are actually three types of twilight during this time of year: civil, nautical and astronomical. Civil twilight occurs in the first half hour before sunrise or after sunset, when the sun is less than six degrees below the horizon. Nautical twilight is so named because the horizon is still visible enough for navigation (even though the sun is six to 12 degrees below the horizon.) Astronomical twilight occurs when the sun is 12 to 18 degrees below the horizon. It’s only when the sun is a full 18 degrees below the horizon that the stars become visible.
And then of course there’s beaver twilight, when its utterly too dark to see anything and you know full well you should go home and put out the recycling but you stay out anyway because now there’s three.
If seven maids with seven mops
Swept it for half a year.
Do you suppose,” the Walrus said,
“That they could get it clear?”
“I doubt it,” said the Carpenter,
And shed a bitter tear.
And in case you need a comforting glimpse of the human response to the oil apocalypse in the gulf, check out these images from the Annual Mermaid Parade in Coney Island. Some people get it.
