Q&A on the News

Q: Was June 21, which was the first day of summer, also the longest day of the year? If not, what is the longest day of the year?

—Eddie Webster, Douglasville

A: Yes, June 21 was the longest daylight period for the Northern Hemisphere in 2018, according to the National Weather Service.

“The summer solstice occurs at the moment the earth’s tilt toward from the sun is at a maximum,” according to the National Weather Service website. “Therefore, on the day of the summer solstice, the sun appears at its highest elevation with a noontime position that changes very little for several days before and after the summer solstice.”

It notes that the summer solstice occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer, which is 23.5 degrees latitude north of the equator.

Q: My wife and I enjoy walking in Garrard Landing Park in Roswell. As long as we’d been there, they always had receptacles where we could dispose of plastic bottles, but recently these have been removed. Do you know why?

—John Titus, Peachtree Corners

A: There is supposed to be a blue recycling bin at the shelter near the playground at Garrard Landing Park, but the lid has recently gone missing, Bobbie Daniels, communications manager for the City of Roswell, told Q&A on the News in an email.

Daniels said people have been mistakenly filling the lidless receptacle with trash, and that a new lid for the recycling bin has been ordered.