June 22 (AZINS) Marking the longest day of the year and the beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere, June 21 marks the beginning of summer solstice which is seen as an auspicious day in many cultures.

Summer solstice occurs when the earth's axis has it a maximum tilt towards the sun which makes the duration of the daytime longer than the nighttime.

In this day, we experience the longest period of sunlight as the sun reaches the highest position in the sky.

The summer solstice occurs between June 20 and 22 depending on the shift of the calendar.

On the summer solstice, Earth's maximum axial tilt toward the Sun is 23.44°. Likewise, the Sun's declination from the celestial equator is 23.44°.

The summer solstice occurs in the southern hemisphere between December 20 and December 23. Since the same phenomena occur in the opposite hemisphere during winter, it is known as Winter solstice.

It is derived from the latin word sol which means meaning sun, and sistere, which means to stand still and occurs two times in a year in each hemisphere.

This year the Summer solstice has coincided with World Music Day and International Day of Yoga.