Long day? The Earth might have something to do with it. Friday, June 20 marks the summer solstice—our longest stretch of daylight in the Northern Hemisphere. Pack sunscreen and thank Earth's axial tilt for the extra hours. For our friends in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s the shortest day of the year and the beginning of winter. This image from June 20, 2013, shows the bright light of a solar flare on the left side of the Sun and an eruption of solar material shooting through the Sun's atmosphere, called a prominence eruption. The flare was a class M2.9, which is in the low-moderate range. Shortly thereafter, this same region of the Sun sent a coronal mass ejection out into space. Image description: This image shows the bright light of a solar flare on the left side of the Sun and an eruption of solar material shooting through the Sun's atmosphere. The Sun glows in shades of red and orange, with areas of high activity in yellow. Credit: NASA/SDO #NASA #Space #Sun #Solstice #Su...