The sun is now setting later
Updated Monday morning........
Over the weekend was the final day of the earliest sunset of the year in Louisville at 5:23 PM EST.
The sun is now setting at 5:24.
One month from today the sunset will be at 5:47
2 months from today the sunset will be at 6:21.
3 months from today the sunset will be at 7:50 EDT.
The latest sunset is 9:10 and is during late June until July 4.
The shortest day of the year occurs on the winter solstice or the first day of winter. This year that date is on December 21.
However at our latitude, the earliest sunset occurs in early December and the latest sunrise happens during early January.
This is because a solar day is usually not 24 hours long. During December a solar day is about 24 hours and 30 seconds long. Solar noon happens at 11:52 AM on December 7 and at 11:59 AM on December 21. Solar noon is the equal time between sunrise and sunset. The solar noon time will oscillate by back and forth by several minutes over the course of the year.
The exact date of the earliest sunset depends the latitude. At the equator it is on December 21.
For Louisville, the latest sunrise is from January 1 to January 10 and the earliest sunset is from November 30 to December 12.
The chart below from Earth and Sky shows the position of the sun at mid-morning at various dates during the year for our latitude.
Note that on January 1 the sun is lower in the sky than on December 21. This means the sunrise is later because it is not as high in the sky on 1/1 than it is on 12/21.
In the summer, note that the sun is higher in the sky before June 21 which means the earliest sunrise occurs before the summer solstice and the latest sunset happens after the solstice.
I love that Louisville is on the edge of the time so we get the late sunsets year round, but it is especially good during the summer. During late June, there is still some light in the western sky at 10:15. Of course on the other hand, you have to put up with the late sunrises throughout the year.
For those Kentucky readers to this blog in the central time zone you have earlier sunsets and earlier sunrises than we do due to your position in the time zone.
No matter what time zone you are in, at our approximate latitude, the earliest sunrise of the year will be in early December and the latest sunrise will be in January.
Louisville sunrise on January 1: 8:00 AM
Bowling Green in the central time zone sunrise on January 1: 6:59 AM
Louisville sunset on July 1: 9:10 PM
Bowling Green sunset on July 1: 8:09 PM