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Hydrogen is found in great quantities on Earth combined with other elements, such as in water and hydrocarbons, but it is barely present in our atmosphere, which contains just 0.00005%.

Middle of summer

In the northern hemisphere, the summer solstice, or longest day of the year, takes place between June 20 and 22 each year. This year it falls on Saturday, June 20 – when the UK will enjoy 16 hours and 38 minutes of daylight. The sun will rise at 4.43am and set at 9.21pm.

31. Beyond Jan. 11, the increase accelerates to two minutes a day and then to three minutes a day by mid-February. In May, the increase slows to two minutes a day and then to a minute a day as the June summer solstice approaches, finally peaking at 15 hours and 13 minutes in the June 16-26 period.

Winter Solstice: In the Southern Hemisphere, today is Summer Solstice — in places like Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, December 21 is the year’s longest day. Today, December 21, is Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

Depending on the shift of the calendar, the summer solstice occurs sometime between June 20 and June 22 in the Northern Hemisphere and between December 20 and December 23 in the Southern Hemisphere. The same dates in the opposite hemisphere are referred to as the winter solstice.

Here are some customary ways to celebrate the solstice—you might notice that some resemble beloved Christmas traditions.

1. Build a Yule Altar.
2. Make an Evergreen Yule Wreath.
3. Burn a Yule Log.
4. Decorate a Yule Tree.
5. Exchange Nature-Based Gifts.
6. Give Back to Nature.
7. Celebrate in Candlelight.
8. Set up a Meditation Space.

Pagans believe that nature is sacred and that the natural cycles of birth, growth and death observed in the world around us carry profoundly spiritual meanings. Human beings are seen as part of nature, along with other animals, trees, stones, plants and everything else that is of this earth.