National Astronomical Research Institute forecasts today as longest day in Thailand

The National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand today announced that the Summer Solstice or ‘Srisamayan’ will result in the longest day and shortest night of the year. The Sun will pause at the highest point in the north today.

The term ‘Solstice’ comes from the Indo-European word stice, meaning steady or pause. The Summer Solstice signifies the day when the Sun’s path reaches its northernmost point and remains stationary. The Sun’s position changes about one degree per day, and from March, it gradually moves northwards until it reaches its highest point today. After this, it will slowly move southwards.

This phenomenon results in the Sun rising from the eastern horizon and leaning towards the north, and setting at the western horizon, leaning towards the north. The southern hemisphere subsequently enters the winter season, while the northern hemisphere enters summer.

The Earth’s axial tilt of 23.5 degrees, perpendicular to its orbital plane around the Sun, makes various areas around the globe receive different amounts of sunlight, resulting in varying temperatures and day and night durations. This creates distinct seasons on our planet. As we can observe during summer, the days are longer than nights, indicating the Sun rises early and sets later. On the contrary, during winter, the nights are longer than the days, and the Sun rises late and sets early.

In Thailand, the Sun was expected to rise at approximately 5.51am and set at around 6.47pm on the Summer Solstice, resulting in a total duration of 12 hours and 56 minutes of sunlight (applicable to Bangkok).