On Sunday, June 21, the public is invited to celebrate the summer solstice by taking in breath-taking vistas from the Gottlieb Transit Corridor at Griffith Observatory.

photo courtesy of the Rich Schmitt Photography

As spring ends and summer begins in the northern hemisphere, the sun’s daily path follows its longest and highest arc across the sky for the year.

Observatory Astronomical Lecturer Dr. David Reitzel will provide interpretation of the sun’s travel on the longest day of the year (14 hours and 26 minutes) at local noon at 12:55 p.m., and again at sunset, on the West Terrace, at 8:08 p.m.

The summer solstice is the moment when the Earth’s orbital motion points the Earth’s North Pole most closely in the direction of the sun. This occurs at 9:38 a.m., P.D.T., on Sunday, June 21. Guests are welcome to visit Griffith Observatory to celebrate the solstice throughout the day. Dr. Reitzel’s local noon talk begins at 12:40 p.m. and his sunset talk starts at 7:50 p.m. Griffith Observatory is located at 2800 East Observatory Road.