Summer Solstice

The summer solstice in 2023 will take place on Wednesday 21 June at precisely 9:58am CT. Contrary to popular belief, the solstice is an exact moment and not the entire day. The event takes place on the first day of the astronomical summer season and marks the exact point the northern hemisphere is pointing directly towards the Sun. It also marks the longest day of the year, with the highest number of daylight hours seen in a single day in 2023. Expect at least 16 hours of daylight in the US.

What is the summer solstice?

The summer solstice takes place at the exact moment the Sun reaches its highest point in the sky, which is when the northern hemisphere is tilted most towards the Sun. Essentially, it marks the point when the Sun’s rays hit this part of the Earth most directly.

The Earth’s axis has a tilt of around 23.4 degrees, relative to its orbit around the Sun. On 21 June, the northern hemisphere is tilted at its closest point towards the sun and the southern hemisphere is tilted its furthest away from the Sun, which is why the northern and southern hemispheres have opposite seasons to one another.

This means that the southern hemisphere will be celebrating its winter solstice at the same time as our summer event and vice versa.

Because it is related to tilt and not orbit distance, the Earth is actually closest to the Sun (the perihelion) in January and furthest from it (the aphelion) in July.

The summer solstice is not necessarily the hottest day of the year. Usually, the hottest day of the year is in July or August. This is because oceans and land masses release the heat absorbed from the longer days back into the atmosphere.