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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsI'm watching Pres Bush's casket arrive at capitol.
It's almost pitch dark here in Boston, and the sky above the capitol is light. How can that be?
tia
las
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,681 posts)jberryhill
(62,444 posts)Sunset in Boston is 4:12 PM today.
In DC sunset is 4:46 PM.
In Miami, sunset is 5:29.
The sun is below the equator, so nights are longer in northern latitudes.
Compare this to, say, June 22 around the time of the summer solstice:
Boston - 8:25PM
DC - 8:37 PM
Miami - 8:15PM
DC is only ten minutes behind Boston at that time (and DC is also somewhat to the west of Boston).
mahatmakanejeeves
(57,586 posts)LAS14
(13,783 posts)jberryhill
(62,444 posts)DashOneBravo
(2,679 posts)It dawned on me that it must have something to do with "the land of the midnight sun" vs 12 hours of sun and no sun at the equator. I've tried to guage the difference between Boston and Maine and it never seemed to settle down. You have now explained it!!! There's more of a difference at different times of the year!
Thanks again!
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)And whatever one might think of living in a Caribbean paradise, you have to realize that, even in summertime, it's lights out just after 7PM. Because of the earth's curvature, there is no long twilight period either. It's like flipping a switch.
I always find it disorienting to be in warm weather and have the sun go down that early, since people from northern latitudes tend to associate warm weather with long evenings.
LAS14
(13,783 posts)The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,828 posts)That was pretty weird. Sunset, such as it was, was at about 11:30 p.m. Today it was at 3:45 p.m.
fierywoman
(7,689 posts)It gets darker sooner further north.
Wounded Bear
(58,696 posts)I remember a few years ago, was talking to my daughter on the phone. I live in Seattle, she lives in Southern California. She's actually lived her whole life there; when she grew up and moved out, I came home. She was confused when I told her it was still light out at 9 pm or so (that was in the summer).
As you go north, days get longer in the summer and shorter in the winter than farther south.
LAS14
(13,783 posts)Fla Dem
(23,731 posts)Washington DC is further west than Boston.
I am on the East Coast of Florida and my relatives in Boston are envious that my sunset is almost 1 1/2 hours later than theirs.
Today's Sunset times
Boston.....................4:10 pm
Washington DC.........4:44 pm
NE Coast of FLorida...5:24 pm