06/21/2026
The longest day of the year is finally here.
At exactly 4:24 a.m. EDT on Sunday, June 21, Earth is reaching the June solstice, marking the official start of astronomical summer in the Northern Hemisphere.
You won't notice anything dramatic at that exact moment, but you'll experience its effects all day long.
The Sun will follow its highest path across the sky of the entire year, giving much of North America its longest day and shortest night of 2026.
The amount of daylight depends on where you live. Across much of the northern United States and southern Canada, people will enjoy roughly 15 to 16 hours of daylight. In parts of Alaska and northern Canada, daylight will stretch to nearly 20 hours, while locations above the Arctic Circle will experience the midnight Sun, where the Sun never sets.
Many people think summer happens because Earth is closer to the Sun. It's actually the opposite.
The June solstice happens because Earth is tilted by about 23.5 degrees. As our planet orbits the Sun, the Northern Hemisphere is now leaning toward it, allowing sunlight to strike the ground more directly and for a longer part of the day.
On the solstice, the Sun also rises at its northernmost point on the horizon, sets at its northernmost point, and climbs higher in the sky than on any other day of the year.
After Sunday, the days won't suddenly become short. But they will begin getting a little shorter each day as Earth continues its journey around the Sun toward the September equinox.
The June solstice is one of four key milestones in Earth's yearly orbit, alongside the March and September equinoxes and the December solstice.
