June 21
The Solstice Dragon
Sun Position
The Sun is at or near its maximum northern declination (+23.4°), in Gemini. This is the Northern Hemisphere summer solstice, the longest day of the year north of the equator, the shortest south. After today, northern days begin to shorten.
Sky Highlight
The June solstice: the Sun reaches its northernmost point on the ecliptic, and the Northern Hemisphere experiences its longest day. In the Southern Hemisphere, this is the winter solstice and the shortest day. The exact date of the solstice shifts between June 20 and 21 by year.
Deep Sky Object
M92 (NGC 6341), a globular cluster about 26,700 light-years away. M92 in Hercules is often overlooked beside its famous neighbor M13, but it is itself a rich and compact globular cluster; it is one of the oldest clusters in the Milky Way, with an estimated age over 14 billion years. Excellent from northern latitudes in June and July evenings; visible in binoculars, resolved in a small telescope.
Featured Star
Etamin (γ Dra) is an orange giant (K5III) about 148 light-years away, the brightest star in Draco and one that sits nearly overhead at summer solstice for observers in northern Europe and Canada. Its steady orange glow has been used as a calibration benchmark since James Bradley measured its position in the 1720s.
Around This Date
- June 21, 2006The International Astronomical Union officially named Pluto's two newly discovered moons Nix and Hydra, discovered in 2005 by the Hubble Space Telescope as part of preparations for the New Horizons mission.
- June 21, 2001A total solar eclipse was observed across southern Africa, with totality lasting over four minutes along its path through Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The solstice arrives without ceremony; the dragon is overhead, the days begin to shorten, and the sky keeps its own schedule.