Watch Summer Solstice Sunset At UMass Sunwheel

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AMHERST, Mass. (AP) — The public is being invited to watch the summer solstice sunrise and sunset among the standing stones of a sunwheel at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

The events on Monday will mark the astronomical change of seasons when days are longest and nights are shortest in the Northern Hemisphere.

UMass astronomer Stephen Schneider will discuss the astronomical cause of the sun's solstice. The sun will appear to rise at a fixed spot on the northeast horizon and to set in a fixed northwest direction for more than a week, as marked by the tallest stones in the sunwheel.

The exact moment of the solstice is 6:34 p.m. Monday. Hourlong gatherings at the sunwheel will be held at 5 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.

The sunwheel is located south of McGuirk Alumni Stadium.