June Solstice 2027

What this countdown tracks

The clock counts down to the June solstice of 2027, which occurs at 14:11 UTC on Monday, June 21, 2027. At that instant the Sun reaches its northernmost declination, the Northern Hemisphere has its longest day of the year, and astronomical summer (Northern) and astronomical winter (Southern) begin.

About this celestial event

The 2027 June solstice falls on a Monday afternoon UTC — almost six hours later than the 2026 solstice, the typical year-on-year drift before a leap-year correction resets the timing. Local times for 14:11 UTC: 10:11 in New York (EDT), 15:11 in London (BST), 16:11 in Paris and Berlin (CEST), 17:11 in Moscow, 19:41 in New Delhi, 22:11 in Beijing, and 23:11 in Tokyo.

What's astronomically distinctive about 2027: the June solstice arrives only six weeks before the August 2, 2027 total solar eclipse — one of the longest totalities of the century, sweeping across North Africa, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen with a maximum totality duration of 6 minutes 23 seconds. Thousands of eclipse travellers will already be planning their August trips by the June solstice. The solstice also coincides with a waxing gibbous Moon (full moon arrives June 19, 2027), so the dawn-of-solstice sky has bright moonlight throughout the night — different to the dark, moonless predawn of June 2026.

The June solstice has anchored human ritual for over 5,000 years. Stonehenge, Karnak, Machu Picchu, and the Bighorn medicine wheel all encode the June sunrise.

What to expect

At London or Berlin the day runs about 16 hours of daylight on June 21, 2027; New York gets 15; Mumbai 13.5; everywhere north of the Arctic Circle has 24-hour daylight. With the bright moonlight after the June 19 full moon, the night is unusually short for noctilucent-cloud observers — bring stronger telephoto kit if you want to image the silvery summer-night clouds against the moonlit twilight.

The Stonehenge open-access gathering runs the evening of June 20 into the dawn of June 21 — English Heritage will publish the official guidance ahead of the night. International Yoga Day events run globally on June 21. In Sweden, Finland, and Norway, Midsummer falls on Friday June 18 with the public holiday Saturday June 19.

Past solstices

• June 21, 2026 — solstice at 08:24 UTC
• June 21, 2025 — solstice at 02:42 UTC
• June 20, 2024 — solstice at 20:51 UTC (earliest in 228 years)
• June 21, 2023 — solstice at 14:58 UTC
• June 21, 2022 — solstice at 09:14 UTC
• June 21, 2021 — solstice at 03:32 UTC

How to observe

The US Naval Observatory, UK Met Office and timeanddate.com publish the exact instant. English Heritage live-streams the Stonehenge dawn alignment. Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, and Danish public broadcasters cover Midsummer; the UN streams International Yoga Day events. For amateur astronomers in 2027, the run-up to the August 2 total solar eclipse means dedicated eclipse-tracking apps and NASA's eclipse pages already carry pre-solstice guidance.

Related countdowns

The June solstice anchors the 2027 sky calendar alongside March equinox 2027, September equinox 2027, and December solstice 2027. Pair with Saturn opposition 2027, the Total solar eclipse August 2 2027, and Mars opposition 2027 for the year's astronomical highlights.

FAQ

When is the June solstice 2027? Monday, June 21, 2027 at 14:11 UTC. Why is the 2027 solstice almost six hours later than 2026? Because the calendar year is about a quarter-day shorter than Earth's orbital period, the solstice instant drifts forward by roughly six hours each non-leap year before correcting back. What's the big astronomy story near this solstice? The August 2, 2027 total solar eclipse — one of the longest totalities of the century — arrives only six weeks after the solstice. Is the solstice sunrise at Stonehenge open to the public? Yes — English Heritage opens the stones for the solstice gathering and the dawn alignment.