The Fascinating Reason Behind Faster Sunsets During this Season

As seasons change, it brings different day and night lengths. But did you know the time it takes for the sun to set changes, too? Let’s look at how the changing of the seasons impacts the time windows for sunset and sunrise. And, we’ll show you why sunsets right now are pretty speedy.

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The changing of the seasons over the course of the year has to do with one thing: Earth’s tilt on its axis. When part of the Earth is angled toward the sun, that half is in summer, while the other half angled away is in winter. This is because the part angled toward the sun receives more direct rays of sunlight than the part that is facing away, and therefore has longer days, shorter nights, and hotter temperatures.

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The half that is angled away has the opposite, with shorter days, longer nights, and colder temperatures. In the spring and fall, each half of the planet receives equal amounts of sunlight on days called the equinoxes.

Our fall equinox happens Saturday, Sept. 23 at 2:50 a.m.

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Now, why does the sun set faster during the equinoxes? According to earthsky.org, it’s an angle issue. Over the course of the year, besides the days getting longer or shorter, the sun also shifts on the eastern and western horizon with the seasonal change. This is because the angle at which each hemisphere of the Earth is facing the sun changes depending on the season. This angle is called the azimuth of the sun, and it is measured in degrees with respect to due north.

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Speedy sunsets? Here’s why: During the spring and fall equinoxes, the sun is rising and setting almost perfectly due west and east on the horizon. There are slight variations due to latitude also changing the angle at which the sun is located on the horizon for the seasons. This means that the sun is rising or setting at the steepest angle possible during this time of year. Due to this, the sun takes less time to rise or set than it would during other seasons, since it takes less time to cross over the horizon.

At the summer and winter solstices though, the angle changes. Instead of the angle being steeper, it becomes more shallow as the sun shifts to be either more south or more north on the horizon. When this happens, the sun lingers on the horizon longer when it’s rising or setting. This causes longer sunrises and sunsets at the solstices.

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With the fall equinox less than a day away, we can expect our sunrises and sunsets to end quicker than they usually do. You can calculate the exact times of sunrise and sunset for where you live here.