SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — As we edge toward the vernal equinox, the start of spring, we are seeing longer periods of daylight in the Northern Hemisphere.
You might have noticed sunset getting later. In fact, Sacramento will see its first sunset of the year after 6 p.m. starting on Tuesday, March 2.
Monday evening, the sunset will come at 5:59 p.m. and by Tuesday, the sunset will be at 6:01.
By the end of March, sunsets will come around 7:28 p.m.
The winter solstice marks the time of year when the sun’s rays are farthest to the south, hitting the Tropic of Capricorn. As we move closer to spring and summer, the sun’s rays move farther north giving us more daylight each day.
Right now, the length of each day is increasing by two to three minutes.
On Tuesday, the total day length will be about 11 hours and 24 minutes. By the summer solstice in June, the day length will be roughly 14 hours and 52 minutes with sunrise at 5:41 a.m. and sunset at 8:33 p.m.
Places even farther to the north will have longer days.
At the North Pole, the summer solstice brings 24 hours of sunlight. People in Anchorage, Alaska will see a day length of 19 hours and 21 minutes. Their sunrise is at 4:20 a.m. and sunset isn’t until 11:42 p.m.
