Why the Earliest Sunset of the Year is NOT on the Solstice
Does it feel darker this time of year? Many folks think it’s darkest on the winter solstice. But it’s actually in early December! Bob Berman explains this phenomenon.
To most of us in North America, this is a dark time of year—and you’re right. The sunsets come exceedingly early. It might surprise you to learn that the earliest sunsets come several weeks before the winter solstice, not on the solstice, as many would guess.
This puzzles people, but it’s actually a reliable yearly sequence.
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- First comes the earliest sunset, in early December.
- Then there’s the winter solstice half a month later—on December 21 in the Northern Hemisphere—the day with the fewest minutes of daylight.
- Finally, another 2 weeks later, in early January, we get our murkiest morning—the latest sunrise.
In early December, North America slams bang at the low point of afternoon sunshine. And since far more people are awake and aware of things at 4:30 PM than they are at 6 in the morning, in a very real sense, you can forget about the solstice and the official “shortest day of the year” in terms of daylight.
The Darkest Time of Year
So far as what most folks actually experience, early December is the darkest time of the year.
For example, in Boston, the Sun started setting at 4:13 p.m. on December 3 and won’t start setting later, at 4:14 p.m., until December 15.
Of course, the degree of darkness varies, depending on how far north you live. The time the clock reads at sunset also depends on how far east or west your home sits relative to your standard time zone.
- For northern latitudes, the earliest sunsets of the year happen around December 7. Think about 40 degrees latitude, so New York City, Philadelphia, Kansas City, Denver, and Reno.
- If you live in the southernmost U.S., or a comparable latitude (about 25 or 26 degrees N. latitude), your earliest sunsets are actually in late November.
- Drive just an hour east from where you are right now, and the Sun sets 10 minutes earlier. That’s because going east around the Earth’s curve makes your western horizon rise up to block the Sun sooner.
- Go a mere 35 miles east, and the sun sets 5 minutes earlier.
In my region, which is the rural Northeastern US, the very earliest sunsets happen for those who indeed live both north AND east—namely, along the upper coast of Maine.
Your Sunset Time?
Test this out yourself! See when your sun starts setting. Try putting in 2 days ago, and then today, and 1 week from now!
→ See the Almanac’s Sunrise & Sunset Calculator.
Why is the earliest sunset well before the winter solstice?
Simply put, it all reflects the reality that tropical sunsets hardly vary throughout the year, while polar sunsets change wildly through the seasons. If you lived smack on the equator, like in Quito, Ecuador, your minutes of daylight would never budge throughout the year, not even by one second.
By contrast, our northern friends in Canada and Alaska experience the most radically short days in December.
But wherever you live, before the winter solstice starts, the afternoons will start getting brighter!
Bob Berman
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I first read this article a few years ago and found it very interesting. Yesterday when I was finishing up feeding the horses in the dark, I remembered reading about this. Lo and behold, here is the article in my inbox this morning! I'm glad that articles like this repeat periodically. Thank you and Happy Holidays!
When living in Alton NH my house had a good view of the sunsets in winter. Noticed a shadow edge of a window that was projected onto another wall. The positions of the shadow as the December days went on was evident. being due to the Earth’s orbital movement.
I painted a yard stick like strip of wood painted white and attached it to that wall. Each sunset I’d make a mark on the stick and as the days went on many marks showed the movement of the sun. As the shadow hit the 12/21 time, a couple of days later you could see the suns movement returning in it’s movement to spring. Did this many years and the movement was duplicated of course. Getting closer to spring the daily movement was great.
This back and forth movement of the sun during the year and seeing it on the stick reminded me of Simple Harmonic Motivation of the Earth while in rotation, like a pendulum. At the Autumn and spring dates, the sun’s movement is the greatest. At the peak Summer and Winter times the movement is the slowest relative to what we observe.
Conserving the sun’s movement via the window shadow gives enlightenment and helps prevent the northern latitudes “Cabin Fever”, spring is coming! If you have the same opportunity, try it. I’m in southern Alabama winters now and maintain eastern time on a clock. At 4:15 pm (dark in the northern states), it’s still daylight here, and hour difference CDT.
I like the later sun periods, but the sun doesn’t rise as early. The Pensacola FL is latitude 30 deg 30 mins. VT/NH/ME is about 44 deg latitude, a 13.5 deg diff. The Polaris (North) star is that much closer to the horizon, and the sun’s position as well.
Now that's a ton of science! I love the information that explains the suns position is actually relative to your location even with a State never mind the country or the world, I have never thought about that before; if you live in South East Kentucky, the sun rise/set time may be different than a person living in North West Kentucky. I'm a Canadian from Ontario and where I am, South Central Ontario, during the mid summer the sun sets around 2130 - 2200 but in Northern Ontario, Manitouwadge (about 5 hours North East of the Minnesota border & 11 hours from my house) the sun doesn't seem to actually fully set.
walking in a wooded park near a field couple weeks ago; got dark about 4 pm; (and chilly); another field had more light;
there was a big temperature difference in the field near the woods @ sunset (Conn.) v. a bigger field which got more sunrays; my conclusion is: where the field meets the woods is the warmest spot; because the sun reflects the light onto the field creating solar; the woods protect from wind. nice we will be getting more sunlight in the after; the sunrays are so pretty in the woods + fields; : )
Nice we will be getting more sunlight in the afternoon; the sun-rays are so pretty in the woods + fields;
The Czechs say: "Lucie, noci upije a dne nepřidá."
Lucie (on 12/13) drinks the night and does not add the day.
I created a chart for our region (N50 E15) a few years ago.
But the shape of the sunrise and sunset curves varies a lot depending on latitude.
Since URL links are not allowed here, you must find this chart yourself. Its name is "Lucie noci upije" and is in PDF format.
sundialer
Since the solstice has the fewest minutes of daylight, how is that not the darkest? It may get dark earlier in the early days of December, but according to your article there are still more minutes of daylight at that time.
Yes, technically, the solstice is the day with the shortest minutes of daylight. Bob is essentially saying that these preceding days with such early sunsets simply feel like longest, darkest nights, essentially because we’re more aware of the dark hours near the dark of night than nearer to dawn. After the solstice, the days get “longer.”
I love these columns about the heavens.
I think I must be the only person that loves Winter, and Standard Time. It's a reprieve from the heat and long days of summer in Texas.
