Summertime, and the Livin’ is Easy

It’s Solstice day, but what that means depends on which end of the earth you live on. In the northern hemisphere, mid-winter’s day is the shortest (and the night is longest), as the Sun traces its lowest angle in the sky. The Earth is nearly at its closest approach to the Sun. In Antarctica (shown here in the austral summer of 2003), science researchers, penguins, and other animal residents are now officially half-way through their six-month long day, and the Sun is as high above the horizon as it will rise all year. (Photo by Jason Hyatt, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)