Longest Day of the Year ⌛
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Episode 98 Description
Do you know why June 20th is the Summer Solstice? 😎 Learn all about it from Laine Farber of the Nature Nerds Podcast. ☀️ While we are talking Summer, Jacob and Olivia Rozencwaig from the Curious Kid Podcast, join to break down the science of sunscreen. 🧴 Check out some headlines. ✅ And test your planet knowledge in today’s Trivia on the Ten! 🧐
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🌍 Visit our website for a list of sources used for this episode and a full episode transcript
Sources for this episode:
https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/103193-longest-line-of-lemonade-stands
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/things-to-do/stone-circle/celestial-stonehenge/
https://time.com/5608296/summer-solstice-stonehenge-history/
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/things-to-do/stone-circle/celestial-stonehenge/
TRANSCRIPT:
Various Voices 0:00
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Bethany Van Delft 0:07
I'm Bethany Van Delft. It's June 19 and this is no ordinary episode of The Ten News. This is The Ten News gets extra.
Before we get into today's episode, we have a very cool update for you. If you listened to Tuesday's episode, then you learn that today is Juneteenth, a celebration of the ending of slavery. And you learned about Miss Opal Lee and her work to get Juneteenth recognized as a federal holiday. Well, Miss Opal can do some extra celebrating today because the US government has voted in both the House and the Senate to make it a federal holiday. It's really important to have a holiday recognized across the country. And thanks, Miss Opal and others for your tireless work to make this happen.
A Kid 1:08
Well, thank you very much.
Bethany Van Delft 1:10
Lots of celebrating this weekend, with today being Juneteenth and Father's Day happening tomorrow. But did you know that it's also the summer solstice, we've got you covered here on The Ten with super sun science. Put on those shades and let's soak up those rays. June 20 is an amazing astronomical day here on Earth. It's the solstice which means either the longest day or the shortest day of the year, depending on what part of the planet you're on. Laine Farber, from the Nature Nerds Podcast is here to tell us more about the science behind the solstice.
Laine Farber 1:52
The sun, we know it, we love it. We need it to survive. Now, you're probably pretty familiar with the sun. You see that great big ball of burning gas in the sky every day. But did you know that for one day a year the sun hangs around for a little bit longer? That's right. Today we're talking about the summer solstice. The summer solstice is the day of the year with the longest period of daylight. And guess what, the solstice is almost here. In the northern hemisphere, the summer solstice always falls between June 20 and June 22. This year, the summer solstice is on June 20. Now, to understand the science behind the summer solstice, you just have to know some Solar System basics. So let's take a quick crash course on our grand galaxy.
Let's start with the star of the show: the sun. This hot burning ball of plasma and gas is the center of attention. All planets rotate around this demanding diva, including Earth. Not to be outdone, the Earth rotates around the sun with a little flair of its own spinning around while tilted at a 23.5 degree angle. Now, this little tilt makes a big impact. In fact, it's the reason why the summer solstice happens and why we have seasons a little confused. Let me break it down for you. Close your eyes and imagine you have a blue ball. Okay, now draw an imaginary line around the center of the ball and divide it into two even parts, the top and the bottom. This ball represents Earth, scientists actually divide our planet into top and bottom halves using an invisible line called the equator. These hats are called hemispheres, and are known simply as the northern and the southern hemispheres. Now that we're imagining Earth all divided up by the imaginary lines, we can get back to the solstice. Right now during the warmer months of the year, the northern hemisphere is tilted closest to the sun. And on the day of the solstice, the sun's path across our sky will be at the furthest point North it will ever be from the equator. Because the sun is at this exact spot, the earth gets its longest amount of daylight. And at the very same time, the southern hemisphere is going to have their winter solstice because the sun's path above us will be at the furthest point south from the equator. Right now the northern hemisphere is experiencing some of the hottest days of the year, while the southern hemisphere is experiencing some of their coldest. In fact, the June Solstice marks the first day of summer for the Northern and the first day of winter for the southern. So now we understand why the summer solstice happens. But there's still one big question. Just how many hours of sunlight are we going to get on June 20? This year we'll have about 13 hours and 46 minutes of daylight. So make sure to slather on the sunscreen and head outside to enjoy the extra hours of sunlight.
Bethany Van Delft 5:23
Thanks Laine, you know I'll be enjoying the extra hours of day time tomorrow. Long sunny days here in the Northern Hemisphere means it's time to protect ourselves from the ultimate summer bummer, sunburns. The best way of course, is sunscreen. The lotion that smells unmistakeably like well, sunscreen. But what is the science behind how sunscreen protects our skin? We called in Jacob and Olivia Rozencwaig from the Curious Kid Podcast to explain the science behind sunscreen skin safety.
Jacob Rosenweig 6:06
The summer is approaching so it won't be long before many of us are spending long days outside enjoying the beautiful weather before heading out for a day at the beach or summer camp. Don't forget to protect yourself from the danger that lurks outside
Olivia Rosenweig 6:21
Sunny days are awesome, but the amazing sun that provides us with light and warmth can also harm us if we're not prepared.
Jacob Rosenweig 6:28
Think about it this way, the sun is so powerful that it is able to give us all that light and warmth from 93 million miles away. If you plan on going outside on a sunny day, don't forget to apply sunscreen to protect your skin from the incredibly powerful sun.
Olivia Rosenweig 6:46
Applying sunscreen not only protects us from getting painful sunburns, but also protects us from stuff like wrinkles, and sagging skin, and even more serious things like certain types of cancer.
Jacob Rosenweig 7:01
Applying sunscreen protects your skin from the sun's powerful ultraviolet rays in one of two ways. Some sunscreens, called mineral sunscreens work by blocking the sun's rays from reaching your skin. Other sunscreens called chemical sunscreens work by absorbing the sun's rays before they reach the skin. There are two important things to look out for on a container of sunscreen. First, broad spectrum sunscreens are best because they protect from both UVA rays and UVB rays.
Olivia Rosenweig 7:37
UVA rays can lead to things like dark spots and wrinkles. Those are signs of aging. So you can think of the A in UVA standing for the word aging. UVB rays cause painful and irritating sunburns. So you can think of the B and UVB standing for the word burn. Both UVA and UVB rays can lead to cancer.
Jacob Rosenweig 8:03
And some sunscreens only protect from UVA or UVB and not both. If the label says broad spectrum sunscreen, you know that it will protect you from both UVA and UVB rays. The second thing to look out for is something called an SPF.
Olivia Rosenweig 8:23
SPF stands for sun protection factor. It's a number that shows you how strong your sunscreen is.
Jacob Rosenweig 8:31
This is how it works. Let's say it is so sunny outside that your skin would burn after being in the sun for just 10 minutes. If you applied sunscreen with an SPF number of 50 on that day, it would help protect your skin for 50 times longer than not wearing any sunscreen at all. So your sunscreen would protect you for 500 minutes. But here's the catch.
Olivia Rosenweig 8:55
The SPF number only holds up if you are reapplying sunscreen about every two hours. And if you are applying enough sunscreen when you do apply it
Jacob Rosenweig 9:06
That's right, sunscreen gets less effective starting about two hours after application so it should be reapplied every two hours or so to maximize protection. Also, it's important to apply enough sunscreen for the average person. That works out to be about a golf ball size amount of sunscreen. If you are applying to spray sunscreen, it's important to spray it evenly over the exposed skin until the skin glistens from the sunscreen.
Olivia Rosenweig 9:34
There is also a best time to apply sunscreen, which is about 30 minutes before exposure to the sun. And then about every two to three hours thereafter.
Jacob Rosenweig 9:44
Using the right sunscreen and applying it correctly will go a long way in making sure that your summer is not only so much fun, but also safe.
Olivia Rosenweig 9:53
Have a great summer everyone. We hope you all enjoy having fun in the sun.
Bethany Van Delft 10:00
Stay safe out there Ten'ers and rock that SPF. Up next, it's time for...
Sound Bit 10:09
What? What? What's the big idea?
Bethany Van Delft 10:12
Trivia on the Ten. Summer solstice celebrations are held around the world to celebrate the sunniest day of the year. One ancient site is particularly famous for its festival. Which one is it? Is it A) the Great Pyramid of Giza, B) Stonehenge or C) the Roman Colosseum?
Did you guess it? The answer is B, Stonehenge. Every year thousands of people gathered to witness the summer solstice at this 4500 year old circle of huge ancient stones, some of which weigh 25 tons. When the sun rises on the solstice, its path across the sky aligns with the stones and the monument. Experts aren't 100% sure if Stonehenge was created to showcase this astronomical phenomenon intentionally or not. But one theory is that the entire site was an ancient calendar. And archaeologists do know the place has been the host of parties for thousands of years. And the solstice celebrations of today, continue that tradition. This year, because of the pandemic there'll be precautions in place. The sunrise will also be live streamed so everyone around the globe can witness this incredible event.
Time's up, they still listening to The Ten News. Look out for new episodes on Tuesdays, Thursdays and extras on Saturdays. The Ten News is a co production of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts and is distributed by iHeartRadio. The Ten News creative team is out slathering on sunblock and includes Kate Hale, Tracey Crooks, Pete Musto, Andrew Hall, Jenner Pascua and Sarah Olender. Laine Farber and Jacob and Olivia Rosenzweig contributed to this episode. Our production director is Jeremiah Tittle and our executive producers are Donald Albright and show creator Tracy Leeds Kaplan. I'm Bethany Van Delft, and thanks for listening to The Ten News. Happy Juneteenth, Father's Day, summer solstice. Yes.
