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Jed Boal Reporting Summer began today in the Northern Hemisphere at 6:27 am Mountain Time.
It's the longest day and shortest night of the year. But there's also something to see in the night sky this year.
The summer solstice arrives with little fanfare, unless of course, you're one of the 19-thousand present-day druids or partygoers at Stonehenge.
Some say its builders aligned the stones for sun-worshipping. Others believe it was an astronomical calendar. How and why the monument was built remains a mystery, but it's a big day at Stonehenge.
For most of us...
Rob Morris/Clark Planetarium Educational Specialist: "The summer solstice is the highest point the sun is going to reach in the sky."
On the longest day of the year, you'll also find your shortest shadow of the year. The sun is at its highest angle in the sky. There's also something else interesting going on up there.
Rob Morris/Clark Planetarium Educational Specialist: "A lot of the brighter planets are visible in the night sky right now. Pretty easily right after sunset."
Three easily visible: Mars and Saturn-- close together in the western sky-- and Jupiter, further to the south.
Just below Mars and Saturn, the Beehive cluster. Mercury is also about as visible as ever, but tough to pick up along the horizon.
Rob Morris/Clark Planetarium Educational Specialist: "To get three visible in the sky, also not hard. It's getting everything close together that gets tricky. It's rare enough that we try to take note of it."
About a half-hour after sunset, at 9:30 or so, look to the horizon just slightly north of due west.
Rob Morris/Clark Planetarium Educational Specialist: "It's unusual for any particular day of the year. This one just happens to have some significance to it."
You can see this alignment for several days.
