Today at 5:34 p.m. marks the moment of the Summer Solstice of 2016. Today is the longest day of the year with 15 hours, 52 minutes, and 44 seconds of daylight based on an imaginary flat horizon. Because of the oblique angle taken by the setting sun at this latitude, twilight will linger well over an hour. If the sky is clear, there will still be light in the northwestern sky after 11 pm. Starting tomorrow, the days will get shorter. But the difference will be barely noticeable, only a few seconds a day for the next few weeks. By Independence Day, the days will be growing shorter at a rate of about a minute a day. By later in August and September, the rate will be over three minutes a day. So enjoy the light. Today is also the full moon. That the full moon is happening on the date of the Summer Solstice is nothing more than a coincidence.
