21st June Longest day of the year

21st June Longest day of the year

On or around June 21 each year, the rays of the sun will be perpendicular to the Tropic of Cancer at 23°30' North latitude. This day is the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere.
On this day, the earth's "circle of illumination" will be from the Arctic Circle on the far side of the earth (in relation to the sun) to the Antarctic Circle on the near side of the earth. The equator receives twelve hours of daylight, there's 24 hours of daylight at the North Pole and areas north of 66°30' N, and there's 24 hours of darkness at the South Pole and areas south of 66°30' S.

This day is the longest in the year for the Northern Hemisphere and the shortest for the Southern Hemisphere.

June 20-21 is start of summer in the Northern Hemisphere but simultaneously the start of winter in the Southern Hemisphere.


Anchorage, Alaska
On June 21, the sun rises in Anchorage at 4:20 a.m. and sets at 11:42 p.m. The earliest sunrise Anchorage experiences is at 4:20 a.m. but lasts from June 15 through June 23. The latest sunset also corresponds to the solstice sunset at 11:42 p.m. but lasts from June 21 through June 26.

Seattle, Washington

The solstice in Seattle experiences a sunrise at 5:11 a.m. and sunset at 9:10 p.m. The earliest sunrise of 5:10 a.m. lasts from June 13-18. The maximum sunset of 9:10 p.m. lasts from June 20 through July 2.

Portland, Oregon
Portland's solstice sunrise and sunset correspond precisely with its latest sunrise and sunset of 5:21 a.m. and 9:03 p.m. The maximums last from June 10-21 and June 21-July 2 respectively.

New York City, New York
The Big Apple sees the sun rise at 5:24 a.m. on June 21 and set at 8:30 p.m. Maximums are one minute off - 5:23 a.m. from June 12-17 and 8:31 from June 22-July 3.

Sacramento, California
On June 21, Sacramento's sunrise is at 5:42 a.m. and its sunset is at 8:33 p.m. The maximums are each one minute off of the solstice times. The earliest sunrise in Sacramento is 5:41 a.m. which lasts from June 7-20 and the latest sunset is at 8:34 p.m. from June 25-July 1.

Los Angeles, California
On June 21 the sun rises in L.A. at 5:41 a.m. and sets at 8:07 p.m., L.A.'s earliest sunrise is the same as the solstice and lasts from June 4-21 but the sunset is one minute later, 8:08 p.m. from June 28-July 1.

Miami, Florida
Miami experiences sunrise at 6:30 a.m. on the 21st and sunset at 8:14 p.m. It's maximums are 6:28 a.m. from June 6-12 and 8:16 p.m. from June 30-July 5.

Honolulu, Hawaii
Much closer to the equator and the 12-hour daylight that places on the equator experience on June 20-21, Honolulu has a sunrise of 5:50 a.m. and sunset of 7:16 p.m. The earliest sunrise in Hawaii is 5:49 a.m. from May 28-June 18 and the latest sunset is 7:18 p.m. from June 29-July 10

Reykjavik, Iceland
Reykjavik lies at 64°9' North of the equator, just a few degrees south of the Arctic Circle (66°30'N) that experiences 24 hours of daylight on the summer solstice. However, the 2:58 a.m. early sunrise on June 21 in Iceland combined with a midnight sunset makes for a long period of daylight. The maximums for Reykjavik match the solstice sunrise and sunset but last from June 17-23 and June 20-24 respectively.

London, United Kingdom
London's sunrise on June 21 is at 4:42 a.m. and sunset is at 9:20 p.m. Sunrise at 4:42 a.m. is London's earliest, from June 11-22 but the sunset maximum is 9:21 p.m. from June 22-28.

Tokyo, Japan
On June 21, the sun rises in the land of the rising sun at 4:25 a.m. and sets at 6:59 p.m.

Mexico City, Mexico
Mexico City's sunrise on the solstice is 6:58 a.m. and sunset is at 8:16 p.m. Sunrise maximum for Mexico City is 6:56 a.m. from May 31-June 11 and sunset maximum is 8:18 p.m. from June 27-July 14.