Summer Solstice Longest Day 2023

This week on the 22 December 2023 is the Summer Solstice here in the Southern Hemisphere. The sunsets can now be enjoyed at Kingston as the sun has reached its most South-Western position for the year and the same for the very early sunrise can be seen towards the South-Eastern horizon. The Summer Solstice is when the sun reaches its highest point for the year.

I checked out the details online and the information says Friday will be approximately 14-hour day from Sunrise to Sunset. Twilight 5:19am, Sunrise 5.46am, Sunset 7:46am and twilight 8:13pm. I also read that the earliest sunrise was during the first week of December at 5:41am. So, if you have been waking early and up with the sound of the bird’s morning chorus this month, this is the reason the bird songs have been starting before your alarm clocks go off.

This month is also the busy time of the year, it may be the shortest night, only about 10 hours long, but for the bakers busy at the bakeries this time of the year is often the longest nights as they prepare lots of treats for Christmas which is only a few days away.

In 2019 Norfolk Island introduced Day Light Saving and the community adjusted Norfolk Island time zone by one hour in the summertime. In October 2015 the Norfolk Island time zone was adjusted making the summer months sunrises early, 4.46am in previous years, and the darkness arrived too early after work for us to enjoy our amazing summer on Norfolk Island. Many of the locals are now enjoying the longer evenings after work. They can have a BBQ or picnic dinner, as well as a swim or walk enjoying the great outdoors.

Summer Solstice which means: 'Solstice' (Latin: 'solstitium') means 'sun-stopping'. The point on the horizon where the sun appears to rise and set stops and reverses direction after this day. The solstice is an astronomical event, caused because of the Earth’s tilt on its axis, and its motion in orbit around the sun. Because Earth doesn’t orbit upright but is instead tilted on its axis by 23-and-a-half degrees, Earth’s Northern and Southern Hemispheres trade places in receiving the sun’s light and warmth most directly. The tilt of the Earth, not our distance from the sun, is what causes the Earth’s winters and summers. At the December solstice, the Sothern Hemisphere is leaning the most towards the sun for the year and the Northern Hemisphere is leaning most away from the sun for the year.

If you are interested in reading more about Norfolk Island time and dates zone details check out

Sunrise and sunset times in Norfolk Island (timeanddate.com)

Sun & moon times today, Kingston, Norfolk Island (timeanddate.com)

December Solstice 2023: Longest & Shortest Day (timeanddate.com)

Also, this is an interesting link.

Longest Day of the Year in New Zealand | Summer Solstice 2023 (sunrisesunsettime.org)

there isn't a night... The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in regions near the Earth's poles, notably in the Arctic and Antarctic circles. During the summer months, the Earth's axial tilt results in a unique occurrence where the sun remains visible above the horizon for an extended period, often throughout the entire night. This phenomenon is most prominent near the polar regions, where the sun's path barely dips below the horizon, creating an eerie but mesmerizing spectacle of perpetual daylight during the summer solstice.

The midnight sun has profound cultural and environmental impacts, influencing the daily routines and traditions of communities living in these extreme latitudes, while also playing a crucial role in the region's ecosystems.

Summertime is here, time to enjoy the Norfolk Island outdoors and our beautiful Emily Bay. Some will be camping in the pines, many will be enjoying BBQs at the beach. Time to enjoy our Island Paradise.

Betty Matthews

December 2023