Gallery: The summer solstice as seen from Stonehenge [1]

Earthsky.org - 6/12/13

 

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View of the Heel Stone at summer solstice sunrise, as seen from inside the Stonehenge monument. Image Credit: Stonehenge: Hele and Station Stones [2]

 

IIt’s nearly summer solstice for us in the Northern Hemisphere. This solstice occurs at the instant the sun reaches its most northerly point on the celestial sphere, the imaginary sphere of stars surrounding Earth. If you stood inside the Stonehenge monument on the day of the northern summer solstice, facing north-east through the entrance towards a rough hewn stone outside the circle – known as the Heel Stone – you would see the sun rise above the Heel Stone, as illustrated in the image above.

Link: EarthSky.org [3]