By Radmila Topalovic
It’s summer. You’re sat in a park or garden, a cold drink in your hand, maybe an ice cream in the other, dog/cat/kids/friends/trees around you, and you’re looking at your shadow on the ground. Over time your shadow shifts, contracts and lengthens in response to the arc of the Sun’s journey across the sky. You are a human sundial, tracking the passage of time as the Earth spins. Your shadow eventually disappears at sunset and you head home or if you’re like me you grab the mosquito spray, another drink and wait for the stars to come out.
If you are located in the Northern Hemisphere, the summer solstice on 21 June brings you ample time to enjoy your changing shadow (and your party outside). On this day we experience the longest period of daylight and the shortest night. The Sun reaches its highest point in the sky in the year at midday GMT (1pm BST), grab a sunhat, sunglasses and suncream wherever you are, for your skin health and of course the glitz and glamour of it all.
There’s a common misconception that the Sun will be directly overhead on this day, this is true if you live at a latitude of 23.5 degrees, marked by an imaginary line around the Earth called the Tropic of Cancer. If you were sat outside in Abu Dhabi at this latitude at midday GMT on 21 June you would find that your shadow has disappeared. If you relocated to a city south of this latitude, 21 June would mark the winter solstice – in this part of the world, your shadow would be longer and your day shorter.
How do we celebrate the summer solstice? Some travel to Stonehenge in Wiltshire, it’s thought that some of the stones, erected some 4500 years ago, are linked to the motion of the Sun and mark the solstices. On a clear day, visitors get to see the Sun rise behind the Heel Stone in the north-east and watch it fill the stone circle with light, a spectacular sight. There’s also the added benefit of a potential appearance on BBC News. Midsummer’s day arrives three days later, fashionably late – using the excuse that it follows the Julian calendar instead of the Gregorian (we’ve heard it all before). There is a pagan tradition of lighting bonfires the night before. The symbolic significance of a fire varies, from promoting healthy crops to warding bad spirits and bringing luck to lovers. For most people in the UK, we have our own little bonfire during those long evenings - a BBQ.
It may not be as warm as you expect around this time; in London, a hot June is always a lovely surprise. As the northern half of the Earth tilts towards the Sun, it takes time for the ground and water to heat up and so the hottest days usually arrive in mid-July. During those long leisurely days, with maybe a bonfire or BBQ, flowers in your hair, a party, whatever you choose to do, your shadow will forever remind you of our continuous motion around the Sun, our relationship with the seasons and a constant in our lives that we share with our ancestors all over the world, regardless of whatever else is happening around us.
About the author
This blog was written by Radmila Topalovic, astronomer and co-author of Night Sky Almanac 2026, Stargazing, 2026 Guide to the Night Sky and more.
Explore more of Radmila's books here.