DALLAS (AP) — It's time for the start of summer — with a full moon to boot.
Here’s what to know about the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere on Thursday.
The Earth spins on a tilt as it revolves around the sun. The summer solstice occurs for Earth’s upper half when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted most closely toward the sun. This also marks the longest day and shortest night of the year.
Around the same time, the Southern Hemisphere is at its most extreme tilt away from the sun, entering winter solstice and its shortest day of the year.
Six months later, the halves will switch it up: The Northern Hemisphere will experience a winter solstice, and the Southern Hemisphere will have a summer solstice.
Equinoxes mark the start of spring and autumn, and happen when Earth’s axis and orbit line up such that both hemispheres get an equal amount of sunlight.
The vernal equinox on March 19 kicked off spring, and the autumnal equinox on Sept. 22 will usher in fall.
This year’s summer solstice comes with a treat: the first full moon of the summer, coined the strawberry moon. The moon won’t be pink or red in color: Its name comes from several Indigenous tribes who noticed that its timing coincided with the strawberry harvest.
On Friday evening, cast your eyes to the southeast to glimpse the full moon peeking above the horizon.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
FILE - Revelers gather at the ancient stone circle Stonehenge to celebrate the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, near Salisbury, England, June 21, 2023. Summer kicks off in the Northern Hemisphere once again with the summer solstice on Thursday, June 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
MOSCOW (AP) — A passenger train derailment in northern Russia killed at least two people, and left one other person missing, a state-run railway company said Thursday.
The 14-carriage train derailed in Russia's northern republic of Komi on Wednesday night, Russian Railways said in a statement, with nine carriages coming off the tracks. Up to 50 people were injured, Russia's news agency Interfax reported, citing emergency officials.
The train, carrying 232 passengers, was headed to the southern city of Novorossiysk from Vorkuta, a coal mining town in the north of Komi, Russian Railways said. It said that heavy rainfall, which washed out parts of the track, was the likely cause of the derailment.
Russian Railways has promised to pay 2 million rubles (just under $22,900) to the families of each of those killed in the derailment on top of the 2.025 million-ruble (about $23,100) insurance payout they will get. The injured who were hospitalized will get 1 million rubles (about $11,400) each, and those who sought outpatient medical assistance will receive 500,000 rubles (about $5,700), the company said.
In this photo taken from video released by Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, June 26, 2024, Russian Emergency Ministry workers help a woman to leave a damaged carriage on the Inta - Ugolny stretch to Komi in the northern republic of Komi, Russia. A Russian state-run railway company says a passenger train derailment in northern Russia has killed at least two people and left one other person is missing. Russian Railways said in a statement on Thursday morning that the derailment of a 14-carriage train occurred Wednesday night in the northern republic of Komi, according to the Russian Railways, with nine carriages running off the rails. (Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service via AP)
In this photo taken from video released by Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, June 26, 2024, Russian Emergency Ministry workers carry a woman from a damaged carriage on the Inta - Ugolny stretch to Komi in the northern republic of Komi, Russia. A Russian state-run railway company says a passenger train derailment in northern Russia has killed at least two people and left one other person is missing. Russian Railways said in a statement on Thursday morning that The derailment of a 14-carriage train occurred Wednesday night in the northern republic of Komi, according to the Russian Railways, with nine carriages running off the rails. (Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service via AP)
