It’s that time of year where, once 4:30pm hits it seems like it’s midnight outside. It’s hard to get anything done when it feels so late in the evenings, and you’re driving home from work in what feels like the middle of the night.
Well, for everyone who suffers from seasonal depression and getting tricked into going to bed earlier because of the sunset, there’s some good news on the horizon!
Starting today, December 19th, the sun will set a whole minute later than usual. And from here, they days will keep getting longer! In fact, by the end of the month, sunset will be a whole ten minutes later than last week. Sunset is expected to begin tonight at 5:33pm and end by 5:59pm.
Does this mean more daylight?
Don’t expect the days to start getting longer yet, though. The sun will also be rising a minute later, meaning the actual amount of sunlight per day will be about the same–it’ll just be taking place in the evening instead of the morning. The days will only start getting longer again after the Winter Solstice, or the official beginning of winter.
What else is going on in the sky?
According to The Sky Live, you’ll be able to see Mercury tonight with the naked eye, just after sunset. Later into the night, Saturn and Jupiter will both be visible to stargazers without a telescope as well. And if you’re up early in the day, Venus and Mars should be visible just before sunrise in the twilight sky.
And for all the moon-gazers out there, our lovely moon is in its first quarter, so you’ll see a nice slice of moon in the sky tonight!
Overall, this just means that winter is right around the corner, and Atlanta is ready for it!