Solar noon is the actual moment that the sun transits the meridian at a given location on earth. It is the moment when the sun reaches its highest elevation on a given day at a given place. This will not necessarily happen at the moment of 12 noon measured by standard time. Time zones are more than a thousand miles wide at the equator, and standard time is the same throughout the entire time zone. The sun can't be at its highest point all across a thousand miles of equator at the same moment.
A solstice occurs two times a year. One in the summer and another in the winter. A solstice is marked when the sun is at its highest or lowest point in the sky at noon. This also marks the longest and shortest days of the year.
The sun is never straight overhead at either of these two locations, as their latitude is greater than 23.5 degrees north. Austin, Texas, is about 30.25 degrees north, so the sun will be 30.25 - 23.50 = 6.75 degrees off directly overhead, or 83.25 degrees above the southern horizon at noon on the summer solstice. New York is about 40.75 degrees north, so the sun will be 40.75 - 23.50 = 17.25 degrees off directly overhead, or 72.75 degrees above the southern horizon at noon on the summer solstice.
IT's where the Earth is in preposition to the Sun. The summer means the days are GETTING SHORTER the winter means it is GETTING LONGER. Summer solstice 1. Sun shine vertically on the tropic of cancer. 2. South pole is inclined the north pole is away from it. 3. This position is on 21 June. Winter solstice 1. Sun shines vertically on the tropic of Capricorn. 2. North pole is inclined towards the sun and the south pole is away from it. 3. This position is on 22 December. _____________ Short Answer: In the northern hemisphere: The June solstice is the summer solstice and it is the beginning of summer. The December solstice is the winter solstice and it marks the beginning of winter. In the southern hemisphere: The June solstice is the winter solstice, and the December solstice is the summer solstice. In summer solstice the days are longer and the nights are smaller and In the winter solstice the rays of the sun is at the tropic of Capricorn in Antarctic zone and the nights are longer and the days are smaller.
The summer solstice for the northern hemisphere.
In the northern hemisphere's summer solstice, around the 21st of June, the northern hemisphere is tilted towards the sun. In the southern hemisphere's summer solstice, around the 21st of December, the southern hemisphere is tilted towards the sun.
In the summer - or more specifically, on the summer solstice (June 21 in the northern hemisphere, December 21 in the southern hemisphere) the noon Sun is as high in the sky as it will get. If the Sun were directly overhead, you would cast no shadow at all. As summer progresses into fall, the noon Sun will be lower and lower in the sky until the winter solstice, when the noon Sun is low in the sky, and the noon shadows will be longer.
The noon solar intensity is greater on the summer solstice than on the winter solstice because the sun's rays hit the Earth more directly on the summer solstice due to the tilt of the Earth's axis. This leads to more concentrated solar energy reaching a given area, resulting in higher intensity.
The solstices occur when the Sun reaches its maximum angular distance above or below the sky's "celestial equator". At local noon, at the solstice, the Sun is at its highest in the sky (summer solstice) or lowest (winter solstice) for the year. The solstices occur around the 21st of June and 21st of December. The summer solstice is in June in the northern hemisphere and in December in the southern hemisphere. At the summer solstice, the Sun is overhead at local noon on the tropic of Cancer (northern hemisphere) and the tropic of Capricorn (southern hemisphere).
The sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer on the Summer Solstice.
The Tropic of Cancer is the northernmost point where the Sun shines directly overhead at noon in the June solstice (summer), whereas the Tropic of Capricorn is the southernmost point where the Sun shines directly overhead at noon in the December solstice (winter).
That isn't possible. If you are at one of the tropics (23.5 degrees north or south of the equator), then the Sun will pass the zenith at noon, during a solstice. But in both cases (north versus south), that would happen at the SUMMER solstice.
Perth is at 32 degrees south and on the summer solstice the Sun's declination is 23½ degrees south. Therefore the Sun is 32-23½ degrees or 8½ degrees from the zenith, that is 81½ degrees above the horizon.
The answer is that annually, on the day of the summer solstice the sun will be highest in the sky at noon. But the sun will be lowest in the sky at noon, on the day of the winter solstice. So on the day of an 'equinox' the sun will be in an intermediate position at noon because an equinox represents the time of year when day and night are roughly equal. Because the days are longer in summer, then the sun will high in the sky at noon and if you plant a stick in the ground it will project a short shadow. In winter when the days are short, the sun is lower in the sky at noon and will project a long shadow. At an equinox therefore, the noon shadow will be half way in between because day and night are roughly equal.
At that moment and at that location somewhere along the Tropic of Capricorn, it is solar noon. It also happens to be the moment of the summer solstice in the Southern Hemisphere, and the winter solstice in the north.
On the Summer Solstice, June 21, the Sun is at about 23.5 degrees north. If you are at 50 degrees north, then at noon ("Local Apparent Noon", when the Sun reaches its highest point in the sky) on June 21, the Sun will be at an altitude of 66.5 degrees above the southern horizon.
When the sun is at its highest point in the sky, it is called solar noon. This is when the sun is directly overhead or closest to being directly overhead at that particular location.
Your shadow will be smallest at noon during the months of June and July, when the sun is highest in the sky due to the summer solstice.