Sorry, America, but sunrise will keep getting later for two weeks
Sunday, Dec. 21, had the least daylight of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. In Washington, D.C., there were 9 hours, 26 minutes, and 18 seconds of daylight, about 2 seconds less than the day before or than on Monday.
TL;DR
- The winter solstice (December 21st) has the least daylight and the lowest sun altitude in the Northern Hemisphere.
- Despite the solstice, sunrise will continue to get later for approximately two more weeks in places like Washington, D.C.
- Solar noon, the time when the sun is highest, is also creeping later in the day during this period.
- Solar days are currently longer than 24 hours, a phenomenon explained by two factors: the Earth's elliptical orbit and its axial tilt.
- The Earth orbits faster when closer to the sun (December/January), requiring more rotation to reach solar noon, thus lengthening the solar day.
- The combination of these factors means that even as daylight hours increase after the solstice, the delayed solar noon causes sunrise to occur later.