The Summer Solstice, 2025 and the Strawberry Moon

The sky at this year’s Summer Solstice. Without the atmosphere, we see the sky as it really is, with the sun at its maximum altitude above the southern horizon (in the northern hemisphere), the surface of the earth will receive the maximum amount of energy for a given latitude. We see Jupiter very close to the sun on the sky and lost in its glare, Mercury, to the east as an evening object and Venus, to the west, a brilliant morning object. The waning crescent moon, furthest to the west is a beautiful, early-morning object. Image via Stellarium.

The Summer Solstice, 2025

The 2025 Summer Solstice, the Astronomical beginning of summer and the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, occurs this year on Friday, June 20, 2025 at 10:42 pm EDT (Saturday, June 21, 2025, 2:42 UTC). By contrast, our friends in the Southern Hemisphere experience the exact opposite; for them, it’s the shortest day of the year with the sun at its lowest point above the northern horizon. Take a look at the image above for the mid-day sky on the occasion of this year’s Summer Solstice. With the winter 6 months in the past, the sun is set against the winter constellations such as Orion and Canis Major.

For those who would like to see the sky at any given time, please open our “Sky Now” page.

What is the Summer Solstice?
Often referred to as the ‘First Day of Summer‘, a subjective term, the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere is the day the sun is at its highest point above the southern horizon at midday. In practical terms, this is the moment during the year when Northern Hemisphere inhabitants receive the greatest amount of energy from the sun. This angle above the horizon, known as the ‘Angle of Insolation‘, determines how much energy is received [from the sun] at a given latitude. In practical terms, this is the moment during the year when Northern Hemisphere inhabitants receive the greatest amount of energy from the sun.

Longest Day of the Year

The Summer Solstice marks the calendar as the longest day and, correspondingly, the shortest night in the Northern Hemisphere. Due to climactic factors and buffering by the earth’s atmosphere, we don’t feel the full effects of this maximum energy received for at least a month into July and August.

The seasons are reversed for our friends in the Southern Hemisphere. It is on this same day, they experience their Winter Solstice, or the point during the year when the sun is at its lowest point above the northern horizon.

This year’s summer solstice illustrated above with Stellarium shows the sun at the height of its travels above the southern horizon for 2025 on June 20th – 21st.

Without the atmosphere, we would see the background stars and constellations of winter such as Orion, the hunter and Canis Major, the great dog. We also note the separation of the plane of the ecliptic (the plane of the solar system) and the Celestial Equator, the projection of the Earth’s equator onto the sky. This separation is exactly equal to the earth’s axial tilt of 23.5 degrees.

Seasonal Changes in Climate

The seasonal fluctuations in climate are not caused by a change in the earth-sun distance. All orbits are elliptical and, with earth’s orbital eccentricity of 0.0167, it’s nearly circular. All planets have a perihelion or closest point to the sun and an aphelion, furthest point. The earth’s perihelion occurs during January, the coldest month in the northern hemisphere and aphelion during July, the warmest month.

The earth’s axis remains tilted at 23.5 degrees towards the same point on the sky in its orbit resulting in the sun’s changing elevation. This, in turn, causes the change in the Angle of Insolation and thus how much energy is received at the surface at a given location. The slight change in the earth-sun distance during the year has little or no effect on seasonal change in climate.

Seasonal Reflections

As the last vestiges of the winter sky are low in the west at twilight, we look forward to the late spring and early summer sky.

With Lyra, the celestial harp, ascending the northeastern sky towards midnight along with Cygnus and the rich summer Milky Way following close behind, we’re certain that warm summer months will soon follow. Many would consider this their favorite time of year, a time that hearkens back to younger days, to a time when you could see magnitude 5.5 stars (the faintest stars visible to the eye are magnitude 6) and a breathtaking view of the Milky Way from many suburbs. With the fresh spring air, the smell of Lilacs and Honey Suckle wafting about with the temperature and humidity still moderate, it’s truly a pleasure to be out under the stars.

The Strawberry Moon, June’s Full Moon

The 2009 Strawberry moon with the red supergiant star Antares to the upper right (west) just following a lunar occultation. Image credit: the author

Timed with the ripening and harvest of wild strawberries, June’s full moon is known as the Strawberry Moon. This year, it occurred on Wednesday, June 11. We’ve written extensively about the lore behind the moon’s names, most of which honor native traditions and coincide with seasonal events or refer to activities related to survival. This is especially relevant for hunter-gatherer or agrarian communities who depended on a plentiful harvest or hunt to survive.

Additional information on the lore of the moon and its names can be found here and here. It also should be noted that each full Moon name is applied to the entire lunar month in which it occurred, not solely to the full Moon.

For moon fans, the month begins and ends with a New Moon. The Full Moon occurs precisely between each new moon on the 16th day. For additional details, a full lunar calendar and the lore behind each month’s Full Moon, please visit the Farmers Almanac. Additional information regarding calendars and phases of the moon can be found here.

A quick, interactive web-based version of Stellarium is available here Tonight's Sky. When you launch the application, it defaults to north-facing and your location (on mobile and desktop).

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