paulitabean

Happy summer solstice, Northern Hemisphere!

The summer solstice – the beginning of astronomical summer – falls on June 20, 2025 (June 21 UTC). It’s the longest day of the year and marks the change of seasons. For our friends in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s the shortest day of the year and the beginning of winter.

Earth orbits at an angle, so half the year, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun — this is summer in the Northern Hemisphere, and winter in the Southern Hemisphere. The other half of the year, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun, creating winter in the north and summer in the south. Solstices happen twice per year, at the points in Earth’s orbit where this tilt is most pronounced.

The Artemis II crew captured this view of an Earthset on April 6, 2026, as they flew around the Moon. The image is reminiscent of the iconic Earthrise image taken by astronaut Bill Anders 58 years earlier as the Apollo 8 crew flew around the Moon. The Apollo 8 mission was the first crewed spacecraft to circumnavigate the Moon.