The Return of the Sun -- Sort of

[bubbleblower]

This part of California is having a spell of wet gray weather, with more hoped for (we need rain) over the next three or four months, until the end of Rainy Season.

But even if we do get more gray weather, the worst of the winter evening gloom is over for the year. We've had the days of earliest sunset, and now both sunset and sunrise are getting later. The shortest day will be at Solstice around December 21. After that both sunrise and sunset will continue to get later until the latest sunrise in early January (exact dates vary with latitude).

So the bad news for morning sleepyheads is that the worst of the winter morning gloom still lies ahead.

If you've never known about the dates of earliest sunset, shortest day, and latest sunrise all being different you're not alone. It seems to be one of those little-known things. Why it happens is too technical to explain here, but if you look up "Equation of Time" and "Analemma" on the Web you may find some useful material.

And yes, something analogous happens in the summertime with the dates of earliest sunrise, longest day, and latest sunset.

You might also want to look at

http://www.plergb.com/Analemma/Analemma.shtml