When is the next equinox or solstice?
The next one is at the top of this page with its exact time, followed by every equinox and solstice until 2030. Each happens at one instant worldwide; the local date depends on your time zone.
Solstices & equinoxes: When is the next equinox or solstice?
The next is the December solstice on Monday 21 December 2026 at 20:50 UTC.
That is in about 87 days. Northern Hemisphere: winter begins; shortest day. Southern Hemisphere: summer begins; longest day. The Sun enters Capricorn.
Times are in UTC; the local date can differ by a day. Meteorological seasons start on the 1st of March, June, September and December instead.
Equinox and solstice dates 2026–2030
| Year | March equinox | June solstice | September equinox | December solstice |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | (next) | |||
| 2027 | ||||
| 2028 | ||||
| 2029 | ||||
| 2030 |
What each one starts
| Event | Northern Hemisphere | Southern Hemisphere | Sun enters |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | Spring begins (astronomical) | Autumn begins | Aries |
| June solstice | Summer begins; longest day | Winter begins; shortest day | Cancer |
| September equinox | Autumn begins | Spring begins | Libra |
| December solstice | Winter begins; shortest day | Summer begins; longest day | Capricorn |
Times to the minute (UTC), calculated with the same astronomy engine as the rest of MySkySoul; they agree with the U.S. Naval Observatory’s published times to within a minute or two. How we calculate.
Questions and answers
What is an equinox?
The moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator, in March and September. Day and night are then close to equal at mid-latitudes (exactly equal day and night happens a few days away from the equinox because of refraction and the size of the Sun’s disc).
What is a solstice?
The moment the Sun reaches its farthest point north (June) or south (December) of the celestial equator. The June solstice brings the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the shortest in the Southern Hemisphere; the December solstice the reverse.
Why do the dates change from year to year?
A calendar year of 365 days is about six hours shorter than the time between two equinoxes, so each equinox and solstice falls about six hours later every year until a leap day pulls it back. That is why the March equinox falls on 19, 20 or 21 March, depending on the year and time zone.
What do equinoxes and solstices mean in astrology?
They are the starting points of the tropical zodiac: the March equinox is the Sun’s entry into Aries, the June solstice into Cancer, the September equinox into Libra and the December solstice into Capricorn. These four signs are called the cardinal signs.