Summer solstice

Early dawn. Late sunset. Long day. Short night. For us in the northern hemisphere, the June solstice marks the longest day of the year.
It’s your signal to celebrate the first day of summer in this hemisphere. South of the equator, winter begins.

When is the solstice where I live?

The solstice happens at the same instant for all of us, everywhere on Earth. But our clocks say different times.

This solstice takes place on Friday, June 20, 2008 at 23:59 Universal Time. Some people will round that up – as my beloved 2008 Observers Handbook did – to 00:00 Universal Time on June 21. So you might see June 21 as the date of the 2008 solstice. Don’t be fooled! In fact, for us in the U.S., the date is June 20, and the 2008 solstice is the earliest solstice since 1896.