Concerned that as many as 100 people could show up on the first day of summer at at its mini-Stonehenge during the pandemic, UMass Amherst has canceled a ritual pre-dawn solstice talk. Skywatchers need not worry about missing out, as the astronomical occurrence takes place over several days.
Standing in the exact center of the sunwheel and facing north, astronomer Stephen Schneider demonstrated how the viewing works this season, based on the horizon. A seasonal solstice — summer or winter — isn't rapid, he said. It’s more like being at the top of a ferris wheel.
“The solstice is a time of year when the sun reaches that most northern extreme, and then it slows down, slows down, slows down -- and then it slowly starts to change direction," Schneider said.
So five days before and five days after the first day of summer, there's not much difference in the position of the sun, Schneider said.
Maybe not even using a telescope, which — this year — he advised people not to share.
