Summer Solstice Pictures: Fire, Druids, Lasers, Llamas

Fiery Devotion

Photograph by Luis Romero, AP

On Sunday, modern-day Maya pray in anticipation of Tuesday's summer solstice at the ancient Maya site of Tazumal. According to Maya priest Jose Erenesto Campos, the Maya hold solstice ceremonies to help balance the energy of Mother Earth and ask for abundant crops.

In tropical El Salvador the June solstice is referred to as the winter solstice, because it comes during the rainy season, which is considered winter.

In neighboring Guatemala, archaeologists recently discovered the remains of an astronomical observatory in a long-buried Maya city in which the buildings were designed to align with the sun during the solstices. During such times, the city's populace is thought to have gathered at the observatory to watch as the king appeared to command the heavens.

(Related: "First 'Skyscraper' Built to Fight Solstice Shadow?")

Published June 22, 2011

Reaching for the Sun

Photograph by Mario Tama, Getty Images

Bernice Acosta and thousands of other yoga enthusiasts crowd car-free Times Square in New York to celebrate the summer solstice Tuesday.

The June solstice is a result of the Earth's north-south axis being tilted 23.4 degrees relative to the sun. The tilt causes different amounts of sunlight to reach different regions of the planet.

Today the North Pole is tipped more toward the sun than on any other day of 2011. The opposite holds true for the Southern Hemisphere, where today is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year.

As a result, at high noon on the first day of summer, the sun appears at its highest point in the sky—its most directly overhead position—in the Northern Hemisphere.

(Related story: "In Scandinavia, Solstice Means Fun in the Midnight Sun.")

Published June 22, 2011

Sunrise Salutation

Photograph by David Mercado, Reuters

Aymara Indian shamans carry burned, decorated llama fetuses at a sunrise winter solstice ceremony in Tiwanaku, Bolivia.

In ancient South America, the Inca celebrated the summer solstice with a ceremony called Inti Raymi, which included food offerings and sacrifices of animals and maybe even people. (See another picture of an Aymara solstice festival.)

Published June 22, 2011

Sandwiched Together for the Solstice

Photograph by Miguel Medina, AFP/Getty Images

In Paris, revelers dance their way into summer during the 30th annual Fête de la Musique, celebrated in streets an on stages across France every summer solstice—which can be on either June 20 or 21.

This solstice's shifting date is a result of the discrepancy between a human calendar year—which is usually counted as 365 days—and an astronomical year, which is about 365.24 days.

Our leap year system—which adds an extra day to the calendar every four years—ensures our calendars are accurate, but it also causes the solstice date to flop around a bit.

More: See pictures of the 2010 summer solstice >>

Published June 22, 2011