巨石阵的夏至日出

2021年06月20日

Sunrise Solstice over Stonehenge
Image Credit & Copyright: Max Alexander, STFC, SPL

Explanation: Today the Sun reaches its northernmost point in planet Earth’s sky. Called a solstice, many cultures mark this date as a change of seasons — from spring to summer in Earth’s Northern Hemisphere and from fall to winter in Earth’s Southern Hemisphere. Precisely, the single time of solstice occurs today for some parts of the world, but tomorrow for other regions. The featured image was taken during the week of the 2008 summer solstice at Stonehenge in United Kingdom, and captures a picturesque sunrise involving fog, trees, clouds, stones placed about 4,500 years ago, and a 4.5 billion year old large glowing orb. Even given the precession of the Earth’s rotational axis over the millennia, the Sun continues to rise over Stonehenge in an astronomically significant way.

Tomorrow’s picture: the tadpole’s tale

巨石阵的夏至日出
影像提供与版权: Max Alexander, STFC, SPL

说明: 在地球的天空中，太阳在今天抵达最北的位置。这个称为“夏至”的日子，传统上标定了季节的更迭—对地球的北半球来说，从春季进入夏季，对南半球而言，季节由秋天转成冬天。更明确的说，对部分的地区夏至是在今天（6/20），然而其他地区则在明天（6/21）。在这幅2008年夏至那周摄于英国巨石阵的影像里，美丽的日出景观有绿树、云彩、建造于4,500多年前的巨石阵、以及一团高龄45亿年的巨大发光球。虽然地球自转轴已历经数千年的进动，但巨石阵的日出依然带有重要的天文涵义。 (译注：台湾-大陆时区，2021年夏至在6月21日11:32)

明日的图片: the tadpole’s tale