Summer Solstice 2013 Arrives Friday (Or Thursday, Depending)

By Brandie Jefferson

The summer solstice, which arrives tonight in the Northern Hemisphere, will straddle two days in the United States this year.

On Friday at 1:04 a.m. EDT, the Sun will be directly above the northernmost latitude of its annual progression, otherwise known as the Tropic of Cancer. But on the West Coast, the clock will read 10:04 p.m. on Thursday—meaning we’ll be squeezing into bathing suits one calendar day earlier.

That’s because a solstice occurs at a single moment in time worldwide—5:04 UTC, in this case. It’s not unusual for that moment to span two different calendar days in the U.S., according to Weather Underground. Over the past 52 solstices and equinoxes, it’s happened 11 times.

The solstice also marks the longest day of the year. On Friday, we’ll see about 14 hours and 56 minutes of sunlight. (We also had approximately that amount of sunlight on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory, and we’ll see similar amounts on Saturday as well.)

The solstice isn't the only big celestial event this week. Skywatchers are gearing up for the arrival of the 2013 supermoon, which is set to peak June 22-23 and deliver the biggest, brightest moon of the year.

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