Why do people gather at Stonehenge in England on the solstice?
EarthSky
Summer solstice seen from Stonehenge
It’s summer solstice time 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. At Stonehenge – an icon of Great Britain and one of its most popular attractions – thousands of revelers caught a brief glimpse of the sun Sunday morning as they marked this summer solstice.
AP reported that about 23,000 sun-watchers gathered on the Salisbury Plain about 80 miles (130 kilometers) southwest of London. But with the sun visible only briefly, the party was markedly shorter than in past years.
. ...
Stonehenge was built in three phases between 3,000 B.C. and 1,600 B.C. and its purpose remains under study.
However, it’s known that if you stand in just the right place 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 will see the sun rise above the Heel Stone, as illustrated in the image below.
In 2015, summer solstice for the Northern Hemisphere (winter solstice for the Southern Hemisphere) takes place on June 21, at 16:38 Universal Time.
More
http://earthsky.org/human-world/gallery-the-summer-solstice-as-seen-from-stonehenge?utm_source=EarthSky+News&utm_campaign=78a6f1476e-EarthSky_News&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c643945d79-78a6f1476e-393525109
= new reply since forum marked as read
"...Carnac is located at the unique latitude on the Earth at which the solstice sun, both summer and winter, form a perfect Pythagorean triangle relative to the parallel of latitude, that is to the east-west, equinoxial axis of the site. In turn, this 3:4:5 triangle is the first of the Pythagorean triangular set and is expressed in the dimensions of the Crucuno monument. (8) ..."
That megalithic era humans knew the Pythagorean theorem to me is astonishing. Carnac is about 1500 years older than Stonehedge and might have been built by the same people.
