By CKR
If you watch American tv weather reports, or even the news, you will hear, sometime today, "And the winter solstice will be at 8:00 am Eastern Standard Time." This is one of those overprecise statements that people like to make because they think it makes them sound erudite.
Today is the winter solstice, and at 1300 UT (8 am EST), the earth's north pole will be as tilted away from the sun as it gets, and therefore the sun will be as low in the northern hemisphere's sky as it gets. After that, the northern hemisphere begins to swing back toward the sun, and the days get longer.
Today is the shortest day and longest night of the year in the northern hemisphere. That's for the whole day, not just 1300 UT. The exact moment things turn around is of minor interest.