Summer solstice is here again. It’s a special time of year for Alaskans.

The longest day of the year is upon us.

Friday is summer solstice, when Anchorage will get more than 19 hours of sunlight. In Alaska’s largest city, the sun will rise at 4:20 a.m. on Friday, according to data from the U.S. Naval Observatory. It won’t set until 11:42 p.m.

Alaskans are acutely aware of summer solstice, likely more so than most of our friends in the Lower 48 and at other southward latitudes. And how could we not be? For many weeks, we’ve been drawing the curtains in an effort to block out the late-night sun so we can sleep at a reasonable hour, and eating dinner later than usual.

Some sun-crazed Anchorage residents celebrate the solstice by hiking Flattop Mountain or other trails late into the evening. Others go on nighttime bike rides. Safe to say, plenty of us usually miss out on getting much sleep.

The farther north you are, the longer the light lingers. Up in Utqiaġvik, the northernmost city in the U.S., the daylight is at its most extreme. The sun has not set there since May, and it still won’t for another several weeks.

The actual time of the summer solstice, the moment each year when the sun hits its highest point in the sky around the northern hemisphere (and the official start of summer), is at 7:54 a.m. Alaska time.

Enjoy Friday ⁠— there are always plenty of summer solstice events in Anchorage and beyond. On Saturday, we will start losing daylight bit by bit as we move again toward winter darkness. Whatever effects that fact may have on our spirits, it will still be awhile before we really notice it fading.