Skip to main content Live Science Live Science Search Live Science View Profile Sign up to our newsletter Planet Earth Archaeology Physics & Math Human Behavior Science news Life's Little Mysteries Science quizzes Newsletters Story archive 2025 Strawberry Full Moon King Midas family tomb Largest ever map of universe Musk's Dragon capsule feud Space photo of the week Recommended reading What time does the solar eclipse start tomorrow? When is the next full moon? Eclipse map: What will tomorrow's solar eclipse look like from your state? When is June's full moon, and why is it called the 'Strawberry Moon'? March 29 solar eclipse: Don't miss the rare sunrise solar eclipse over North America tomorrow Vernal equinox: How to see spring begin, just by looking at the stars Planet Earth Watch moon's shadow race across US during 2024 total solar eclipse When is the summer solstice in 2025? It depends on your time zone. Jamie Carter 10 June 2025 The summer solstice, the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, falls on June 20 this year in North America. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Crowds celebrating the summer solstice and the dawn of the longest day of the year at Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England. (Image credit: paul mansfield photography via Getty Images) Each year on the summer solstice, revelers at Stonehenge in England stay up all night to celebrate the dawn of the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, with many images streamed live. But this year, there's a twist: The summer solstice there will occur on a different day than the solstice in North America, due to time zone differences. So when is the summer solstice in 2025, and what's the science behind it? This year, the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere occurs at 02:42 UTC on Saturday, June 21, 2025. That means it's at 10:42 p.m. EDT on Friday, June 20 and at 3:41 a.m. BST on Saturday, June 21. You may like What time does the solar eclipse start tomorrow? When is the next full moon? Eclipse map: What will tomorrow's solar eclipse look like from your state? The event’s name is instructive: "Sol" means "sun" in Latin, while "stice" means to stand still. That's exactly what appears to happen on two days each year — one between Dec. 20 and Dec. 22, and the other between June 20 and June 22 — when the sun rises and sets at its most northerly or southerly points on the horizon. If you consider the seasons and the sun's position in the sky, that checks out: The sun reaches its highest point in the midday sky in the Northern Hemisphere on the day of the summer solstice, which means it must be rising at its farthest northeast and setting at its farthest northwest. Precisely the opposite is happening in the Southern Hemisphere, where the June solstice is the winter solstice. When the sun is highest in the Northern Hemisphere's daytime sky, it's the lowest in the Southern Hemisphere's daytime sky. The situation is reversed for the December solstice, the longest day and the shortest night in the Southern Hemisphere. At the equinoxes ("equi" and "nox," meaning equal night), between March 19 and 21 and between Sept. 21 and 24, the sun appears to rise and set due east and west, respectively, from everywhere on Earth. Related: The 10 best stargazing events of 2025 Sign up for the Live Science daily newsletter now Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. RELATED STORIES —The 10 best stargazing events of 2025 —How does the summer solstice affect animals? —What color is the sun? Solstices and equinoxes happen because Earth's axis of rotation is tilted 23.5 degrees from the plane of its orbit around the sun, which causes the seasons. On the summer solstice, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, so it receives the full glare of the sun's rays for the longest time and the day is therefore the longest. Following this logic, it would seem that the summer solstice should also be the warmest day of the year. However, there's a slight seasonal lag because our mostly watery planet takes time to absorb the heat, according to the Royal Meteorological Society. At the North Pole, the sun does not set on the summer solstice, while at the South Pole, the sun does not rise. Jamie Carter Social Links Navigation Live Science contributor Jamie Carter is a freelance journalist and regular Live Science contributor based in Cardiff, U.K. He is the author of A Stargazing Program For Beginners and lectures on astronomy and the natural world. Jamie regularly writes for Space.com, TechRadar.com, Forbes Science, BBC Wildlife magazine and Scientific American, and many others. He edits WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. What time does the solar eclipse start tomorrow? When is the next full moon? Eclipse map: What will tomorrow's solar eclipse look like from your state? When is June's full moon, and why is it called the 'Strawberry Moon'? 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