THOUSANDS descended upon Stonehenge during the early hours this morning to watch the sun rise, as part of the summer Solstice.
The longest day of the year, June 21, is thought to have been celebrated at the English Heritage site for thousands of years, as the sun rises behind the Heel Stone and rays of sun are channelled into the centre of the monument.
This morning the sunrise began at 4.52am, turning the sky shades of yellow, green and blue, and leaving around 10,000 spectators cheering, dancing, singing and playing music.
Visitors travelled from far and wide to experience being inside the stone circle and to celebrate the history of the stones, as well as changes in daylight hours, seasons, moon cycles and sun movement, and the physical and spiritual Neolithic lifestyle.
Scientist and Sky at Night presenter, Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, joined Solstice enthusiasts this morning, which English Heritage has joined forces with to create Stonehenge Skyscape.
Launched this morning, Stonehenge Skyscape will allow people all over the world to in future experience and enjoy the Stonehenge sunrise merely through a website, while watching the virtual journey of the stars and the moon from within the stone circle.
Following her first time at the summer Solstice, Dr Aderin-Pocock said: "It’s just wonderful to be here, because I’ve got the moon, the sunrise, I’m just in my element here. When I first saw [the stones] I was mesmerised. We’ll definitely be coming back next year.
"Our ancient ancestors spent ages building this magnificent monument and aligned it to the summer Solstice, the rising sun on the longest day of the year.
"Thousands of people come here just to appreciate this site and it brings us back to nature and our place in the cosmos, and at least once a year we should all do this."
When asked about Skyscape, Dr Aderin-Pocock told the Journal: "The magic of Skyscape is that it’s trying to give this sort of Solstice feeling to everyone across the world. We’re losing our contact with the night sky, not many people get to see views like this.
"Whatever the weather Skyscape will capture this and project it onto the stones."
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