Unraveling the Mystery: Why Chicago's Sunrises Are Late and When They'll Get Brighter
The Early Bird Catches the Worm, But in Chicago, the Sunrise is Late
Have you ever wondered why the sun seems to be taking its sweet time to rise in Chicago? Well, you're not alone! While the days are getting longer, the sunrise is still lingering until after 7 a.m. But why is that? And when will it change again?
The reason lies in the Earth's orbit around the sun, which isn't a perfect oval. The winter solstice, the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, occurred on Dec. 21, but it didn't perfectly align with the earliest sunset nor the latest sunrise of the year. This means that the days are slowly getting longer, but the sunrises are still late.
In the weeks following Jan. 1, sunrise will continue to happen later in the morning, slowly decreasing the amount of daylight the Chicago area will see in a given day. According to sunrise-sunset.org, the latest sunrises will occur between Jan. 1 and 9, when it takes place at 7:16 a.m. each day.
After that, sunrise will begin taking place earlier in the day, and the Chicago area will gain roughly a minute of daylight per day, with that rate gradually increasing as time progresses. On Jan. 30, the Chicago area will exceed 10 hours of daylight, and by the time Feb. 1 rolls around, sunrise will occur at 7:01 a.m.
It's important to note that after the solstice, the increase in daylight comes from later sunsets, not earlier sunrises, as a result of the Earth’s tilt and orbital speed. So, while the days are getting longer, the sunrises are still late, but they will gradually get earlier as we move towards spring.
As spring nears, the days will get longer and the sunrises will occur earlier, leading up to the start of daylight saving time. For example, sunrise will occur at 7:12 a.m. in the hours following the time shift, compared to 6:13 a.m. the day prior. After that, sunrise times will keep shifting earlier, with sunrise happening at 6:31 a.m. on April 1 and 5:44 a.m. on May 1. They'll get even earlier the following month, with sunrise happening at 5:16 a.m. on June 1.
So, while the sunrises may be late for now, they will gradually get earlier as we move towards spring. But here's where it gets controversial... Some people might argue that the sunrises are already too early, and that we should be focusing on making the sunsets later. What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
