Talk of the Town: Science of the solstice

Today is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. The northern hemisphere is getting more direct sunlight than the southern hemisphere.

That science lesson aside, today is the first day of summer, which means that for the next three months, the sun will remain above the horizon longer each day than it is below it, though the daylight hours get shorter each day between now and the winter solstice on Dec. 21.

Summer actually arrived at 2:46 a.m. today as the sun entered the sign of Cancer. People and cultures around the world have a variety of names for the day and several different religious - including Pagan -...