The summer solstice has arrived, marking the start of astronomical summer and the longest day of 2026 in the northern hemisphere.

The summer solstice occurred at 4:24 a.m. EDT (0824 GMT) on June 21, as Earth's north pole reached its most extreme tilt towards the sun in its yearly orbit, bathing the northern hemisphere in its light.

As such, June 21 marks the start of astronomical summer, which is calculated based on the position of Earth relative to the sun, as opposed to meteorological summer, which is based on temperature and runs from the beginning of June through to the end of August.

How much sunlight will you get on the day of the summer solstice?

How much daylight you receive depends largely on your latitude. According to veteran meteorologist and Space.com columnist Joe Rao, it's all a question of latitude. "At the equator, the time from sunrise to sunset is about 12 hours. At temperate or mid-northern latitudes (approximately 40 degrees north) the length of daylight lasts about 15 hours," said Rao in an article for Space.com

The effect of Earth's tilt is even more pronounced 66.5 degrees north of the equator in the Arctic Circle, where the sun won't set below the horizon at all, heralding a full 24 hours of daylight, often called the midnight sun. You can discover exactly how much daylight you'll get on June 21 using Time and Date's sunrise and sunset tracker.

At the same time that the northern hemisphere experiences the summer solstice, Earth's south pole tilts 23.5 degrees away from the sun relative to the celestial equator, which gives the southern hemisphere its shortest day of the year during the winter solstice.

Want to know more? Then be sure to read our comprehensive guides to the summer and winter solstices to discover everything from the Latin meaning of their names, to what causes them and how they're celebrated around the world.

Heads up, stargazers! The notoriously unpredictable June Bootid meteor shower is set to peak this week — and anything could happen.

While most annual meteor showers follow a fairly predictable script, the June Bootids have a habit of surprising astronomers. Most years, the shower produces only a few meteors per hour. Occasionally, however, it erupts into an unexpected display.

In 1998, skywatchers were treated to an outburst of up to 100 meteors per hour, while another burst in 2004 produced an estimated 20-50 meteors per hour, according to the Royal Museums Greenwich. Yet the shower remains notoriously difficult to predict. In 2010, astronomers anticipated another outburst, but fewer than 10 meteors per hour were reported.

What causes the Bootids?

The June Bootids occur when Earth passes through debris left behind by comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke, which orbits the sun approximately every six years. As fragments of this icy wanderer's trail enter Earth's atmosphere, they burn up and create bright streaks of light we call meteors, or shooting stars.

When is it?

The shower is active through late June, with the peak of the shower predicted for between June 20 and June 27, according to the American Meteor Society.

How can I see it?

Most years, the June Bootids put on a very modest show with just one or two meteors per hour. However, they have earned a reputation for the unexpected, which is why many skywatchers keep an eye on them despite their modest rates. You never really know what the June Bootids have in store.

For the best chance of spotting a June Bootid, head to a dark location away from city lights if you can. The shower's radiant — the point from which the meteors appear to originate — lies in the constellation Boötes, which sits high in the western and southwestern sky during the evening for observers in the Northern Hemisphere.

While the radiant can help you identify June Bootids, you don't want to look directly at it. Instead, find a comfortable spot with a wide view of the sky and let your eyes adjust to the darkness for at least 20 minutes. Meteors are often easier to spot when you're scanning a broad area of sky.

Each November in the Northern Hemisphere, the astronomy world cranks up a gear. As Orion's Belt and the bright stars of winter appear in the east just after an early sunset, telescopes are added to Christmas lists. True darkness has arrived — long winter nights when stargazing sessions can go on for many hours. The blanket of stars has arrived.

I used to think beginners should start stargazing in winter. That's what astronomy books always imply: crisp, dark skies and brilliant stars, with the constellation Orion and its spectacular nebula dominating the heavens. My own book, A Stargazing Program for Beginners, outlines a month-by-month program to reveal all the night sky's biggest and most beautiful secrets in just one year — starting in January. Technically, it's all true. Winter skies are spectacular. But they're also cold enough to make most normal people give up after 15 minutes.

June is different. June is when the sky becomes readable. The nights are shorter, yes, and in the northern U.S., Canada and much of Europe, true darkness arrives very late near this weekend's solstice. But that softness is exactly what makes it approachable. You don't step into a black void filled with unfamiliar stars, shivering as you do so. You ease into it through lingering twilight, warm air, and a handful of large, obvious patterns that repeat night after night. Stargazing becomes a slow, easy, unrushed affair — and there's so much to see.

What's happening and when to look

Just as winter brings many hours of darkness that are hard to make use of — because of cold and clouds — summer brings the opposite problem. In June, you can stand outside in shirtsleeves, but only late at night. For example, in New York — at about 41 degrees north — sunset on the solstice is at 8:33 p.m. EDT, with astronomical night (defined as when the sun is 18 degrees below the horizon) between about 10 p.m. and 3:30 a.m. EDT. At 51 degrees north (much of Canada and the U.K.), astronomical night starts after midnight.

Wherever you are in the Northern Hemisphere, you can stargaze during the long twilight that begins about 45 minutes after sunset. With calmer weather compared to winter's haze and endless cloud systems, a clear sky is more likely — and so are camping trips under a dark sky.

There's another beginner advantage in summer that few mention: the learning curve is shorter. Summer constellations and asterisms rely more on large geometric patterns. You're not trying to memorize dozens of tiny stars, but instead you're learning shapes.

How and when I'm stargazing this month

Step outside around 10:30 or 11 p.m., depending on your latitude and face north to find the Big Dipper — the large spoon-shaped pattern high in the sky. Then use the curve of its handle. Follow the arc outward, and you'll arrive at a bright orange star low in the western half of the sky: Arcturus, in the constellation Boötes. Arcturus comes from the ancient Greek word Arktouros, meaning "guardian of the bear." It's an ancient star-hop, but now we know the science: Arcturus is a red giant star and the fourth-brightest star in the night sky. It's about 37 light-years away from the solar system and, at seven billion years old, it's older than the sun.

Even if you only find Arcturus, you've already learned a genuine navigation technique astronomers (and mariners) have used for generations. But there's more. Continue the same curve farther south, and you'll eventually reach Spica, a bluish star in the constellation Virgo. Its name means "ear of corn" because of its seasonal connection to agriculture and harvests. About 250 light-years distant, it's actually two massive young stars (12 million years old) orbiting each other.

Now turn eastward, where three bright stars dominate the summer sky: Vega, Deneb and Altair. Together they form the Summer Triangle, probably the single best beginner landmark in the Northern Hemisphere's summer sky. Vega is the easiest starting point because it's so bright and highest in the sky. Deneb sits below, and Altair appears lower. Once you can identify those three stars consistently, you've unlocked an enormous amount of the summer sky. Recognizing the Summer Triangle gives you orientation, confidence and a mental map.

Under darker rural skies, you may also begin noticing the Milky Way stretching behind Deneb and Altair later in the night. If you can't see it, you either need to stay outside a little longer (it takes 20 minutes away from any light — particularly the white light from a smartphone — to see it properly) or else the sky conditions are poor (which could include light pollution).

But even from cities, the bright and vast patterns of the summer night sky remain visible. Learn one new asterism or constellation each session — such as the faint outline of constellations like Virgo, Ophiuchus, Hercules and Corona Borealis — and repeat the process during your next stargazing session.

So lean into the solstice this week, do some real stargazing and build your confidence gradually while the geometry of Earth's tilt turns in your favor.

Stargazer's corner: June 19-25, 2026

The June solstice arrives this week, marking the longest days and shortest nights of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Darkness is now at a premium, with extended twilight lingering well into the night and returning early in the morning, but the moon is back in the evening sky. On Friday, June 19, a 29%-illuminated waxing crescent moon will shine just to the left of Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo. At the same moment, Venus will pass through the Beehive Cluster. It's the latter that you don't want to miss — it's a rare occurrence. On Tuesday, June 23, a 70%-illuminated waxing gibbous moon will shine next to Spica.

Constellation of the week: Cygnus

Is it a swan? Is it a Christian cross? Depending on how you look at the constellation Cygnus, it can be either, but its official name relates to the long-necked bird in flight. Positioned across the Milky Way, its most obvious star is Deneb — one of the anchor stars of the Summer Triangle — which marks either the body of the swan or the top of the cross.

Even in less-than-perfect skies, the shape of Cygnus is clear, and in darker conditions, it sits within a dense star field that hints at structure within the Milky Way.

The Fujinon Techno-Stabi 1640 binoculars were the first image-stabilized (IS) binoculars I got my hands on and they are, quite literally, showstopping. Handheld stargazing actually became fun for me, instead of just getting annoyed at squiggly lines of light. Regardless of whether you are a seasoned binocular pro or a beginner, when you start upping the magnification, views start amplifying hand shake and make observation impossible. What is the point of spending loads on high quality optics if you can't even get a still picture? I truly believe that when it comes to non-telescope stargazing, image stabilization (IS) is one of the best things you can spend your money on.

Get the Fujinon Techno-Stabi TS-L 1640 image-stabilized binoculars, on sale right now for $1,125 at Walmart.

I'm not saying that image-stabilized binoculars aren't expensive. They are, but you would realistically never need to buy another pair of high-magnification binoculars again. I recommend the Fujinon Techno-Stabi 1640 binoculars at full price, so getting $275 off them at their lowest price really is a steal. For prices on other binoculars and other optics, check out our Prime Day hub for the best prices during the summer sales events.

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The Fujinon Techno-Stabi TS-L 1640 image stabilized binoculars sit near the top of the binocular pyramid alongside the other best image stabilized binoculars thanks to their premium Fuji optics, lightweight build and powerful 3-degree image stabilization (IS). It is some of the strongest IS on the market, only being out ranked by other Fujifilm IS binoculars.

40mm objective lenses aren't the biggest for stargazing, where 50mm is the gold standard for low light, but you can't complain when observing star clusters at 16x magnification with zero shake. Even if you were using 16x50 binoculars without IS, that extra light-gathering ability would be useless when observing overhead without a tripod, the resulting view likely to be a mess of squiggly lights.

My favorite target with these was the Mirfak cluster in the constellation Perseus, which I could actually identify at this magnification thanks to the IS. It's amazing using them without the IS, then switching it on and watching the detail of the night sky emerge. They sit in a higher price bracket than regular models, but they really are some of the best optics you can buy for a heavy binocular user and now with over $250 off their asking price on Walmart, it's a great chance to save money on some exceptional technology. We are going to be seeing a lot of deals on binoculars, telescopes and cameras coming up to Amazon Prime Day. It starts on June 23, so make sure you check our Prime Day hub for all the best offers on skywatching gear and space gifts.

Key features: 16x magnification, 40mm objective lenses,+/- 3 degrees of image stabilization, multicoated extra-low dispersion (ED) glass, roof prism optical desing, 1.9 lbs (856 g) weight, 30-hour battery life.

Product launched: January 2025

Price history: This is the cheapest the Fujinon Techno-Stabi TS-L 1640 binoculars have been since May this year, when they dropped to 1150 on Amazon. This Walmart price currently beats Amazon's asking price.

Price comparison: Walmart: $1,125 | Amazon: $1,199 | Best Buy: $1,199

Reviews consensus: I rated the Fujinon Techno-Stabi TS-L 1640 binoculars four and half stars for their smooth image stabilization (IS) and lightweight design. Other reviews remark on the high price but argue that it is justified through the exceptional performance of these binoculars, with the difference made by IS like night and day.

Space: ★★★★½

Featured in guides: Best binoculars, best image-stabilized binoculars

✅ Buy them if: You want stock-still images of the night sky while using handheld binoculars.

❌ Don't buy them if: You want high definition images of deep-sky objects, whilst they can get you better views of them, a special deep space telescope or smart telescope will get you more detailed views of galaxies, star clusters and nebulas.

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