DALLAS — Goodbye January, and goodbye to early sunsets before 6 p.m!
It is that time of the year when it is dark on the drive to work and it is dark on the drive home.
But good news: Longer, sunnier days are ahead!
Our first sunset after 6 p.m. of the season falls on Feb. 1.
This is only the beginning of later sunsets. Through February, sunset times will be later and later. The end of the month will feature sunsets closer to 6:30 p.m! Daylight saving time will also play a big factor. The official start of daylight saving time is Sunday, March 10. Thanks to springing forward, sunsets will be at 7:31 p.m. beginning March 10.
The days continue to gain daylight through the summer solstice, which lands on June 20 this year. That is when Dallas-Fort Worth maxes out at fourteen hours and nineteen minutes of sunlight. The latest sunset of the year happens a few days after that on June 26, at 8:39 p.m.
Why does the length of the day vary throughout the year?
The short answer is the tilt of the earth.
The Earth's tilt plays a major role in the length of the days. During the northern hemisphere's winter, the earth is tilted away from the sun. This means the sun is directly over the southern hemisphere. On the first day of spring, or vernal equinox, the center of the sun is directly over the equator. The earth continues to move in its orbit and naturally, the northern hemisphere then tilts towards the sun after the vernal equinox. With the sun now directly over the northern hemisphere, the days are longer.
