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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

The sun is setting across a field in a clear sky. In the field are the famous stones of Stonehenge. The Sun peaks out from the center of the stone array. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

Sunset Solstice over Stonehenge

Explanation: Yesterday the Sun reached its southernmost point in planet Earth's sky. Called a solstice , many cultures mark yesterday's date as a change of seasons -- from autumn to winter in Earth 's Northern Hemisphere and from spring to summer in Earth's Southern Hemisphere . The featured image was taken just before the longest night of the 2025 northern year at Stonehenge in United Kingdom . There, through stones precisely placed 4,500 years ago, a 4.5 billion year old large glowing orb is seen setting. Even given the precession of the Earth's rotational axis over the millennia, the Sun continues to set over Stonehenge in an astronomically significant way .

Date December 22, 2025
Credit Image Credit & Copyright: English Heritage , Josh Dury
Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.