Winter solstice instant of the solstice can be calculated, direct observation of the solstice by amateurs is impossible because the sun moves too slowly or appears to stand still (the meaning of "solstice"). However, by use of astronomical data tracking, the precise timing of its occurrence is now public knowledge. One cannot directly detect the precise instant of the solstice (by definition, one cannot observe that an object has stopped moving until one later observes that it has not moved further from the preceding spot, or that it has moved in the opposite direction). Further, to be precise to a single day,
Six Months, Three Days for the 2011 Nebula Award and the 2011 Theodore Sturgeon Award; it won the 2012 Hugo Award for Best Novelette. Rachel Swirsky described the story as a "philosophical contrast" between determinism and free will. Jim C. Hines said Anders' resolution to the fixed vs. multiple futures conflict was "simultaneously tragic and scary and hopeful", but added that it "felt "right" for the story". In 2013, "Deadline Hollywood" announced that a television adaptation was being prepared for NBC, with script written by Eric Garcia. Six Months, Three Days "Six Months, Three Days" is a science fiction novelette by Charlie Jane Anders.