The term "solstice" is derived from the Latin words sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still) because the sun's relative position in the sky at noon does not appear to change much during the Solstice and its surrounding days.
2. Solstice and Equinox are not the same thing.
Some people confuse the Solstice with an Equinox. However, an Equinox occurs when day and night are of equal length and the sun is directly above the equator. This occurs twice each year and marks the beginning of spring and fall.
3. Earth is actually at its farthest from the sun during the Solstice.
You might think that because the Solstice occurs in summer that it means Earth is closest to the sun. Earth is actually closest to the sun when the Northern Hemisphere experiences the Winter Solstice on December 21.
4. The hot weather follows the sun by a few weeks.
Water, which makes up most of Earth's surface, takes a while to both heat up and cool down. Because of this, Earth's temperature takes about six weeks to catch up to the sun. Hot temperatures to come!
5. Other planets have Solstices.
Mars' Solstice occurs a few days after Earth's June Solstice. On Uranus, each summer Solstice lasts for 42 years (which also means each Winter Solstice lasts the same amount of time for the opposite hemisphere). Venus and Jupiter barely experience Solstice due to the position of their poles.