Did you know the shortest day of the year in Denver doesn’t have the earliest sunset?

The days are getting shorter ahead of the winter solstice, but on the day with the least amount of sunlight, the sun will set later than on previous days. The winter solstice, which falls on December 21st, is the shortest day of the year. This is when Denver will only see nine hours and 21 minutes of daylight. While the shortest day of the year is over a week away, the sun will start to set later in the day beginning on Saturday.

For the first 13 days of December, the sun sets at 4:35 p.m. While there are shorter days ahead, this will be the earliest the sun sets all year.

Because of the way the sun rises and sets in Denver, on the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice, the sun will rise later in the morning and set later in the evening. So, this means the shortest day of the year doesn’t technically have the earliest sunset of the year.

For example, on December 11th, the sun will rise at 7:11 a.m. and set at 4:35 p.m., but on the winter solstice in Denver, the sun will rise at 7:17 a.m. and set at 4:39 p.m. The earliest the sun sets all year until December 13th, then, the sun will start to set later and later. There won’t be a noticeable change in  the afternoon for at least a month.