It's getting on toward 7:30 in Chicago, and the sun still hasn't risen yet. We return to standard time tonight, meaning the sun will rise at 6:30 tomorrow. Today, however, will be the latest sunrise in Chicago (and in the rest of those parts of the U.S. that observe daylight saving time) until 2021.
What's wrong with the last weekend in October? Or, as they do in parts of Europe, the last weekend in September? The "extra" hour of daylight in the evening has to come from somewhere. I, for one, prefer staying out after dark to waking up before dawn.
It's time for the semi-annual update of the Chicago sunrise chart. (You can get one for your own location at http://www.wx-now.com/Sunrise/SunriseChart.aspx.) I'm a little late with the mid-year update because I've been a little busy. You haven't missed much—and anyway, they overlap.
An interesting note about 2010: the sunset on November 6th will be the latest sunrise in Chicago (7:30am) until 2021—and that, only within 4 seconds of precision.
Date |
Significance |
Sunrise |
Sunset |
Daylight |
2010 |
2 Jul |
8:30pm sunset |
05:20 |
20:30 |
15:10 |
17 Jul |
5:30am sunrise |
05:30 |
20:23 |
14:52 |
9 Aug |
8pm sunset |
05:53 |
20:00 |
14:06 |
16 Aug |
6am sunrise |
06:00 |
19:50 |
13:49 |
29 Aug |
7:30pm sunset |
06:14 |
19:29 |
13:16 |
14 Sep |
6:30am sunrise |
06:30 |
19:02 |
12:31 |
15 Sep |
7pm sunset |
06:31 |
19:00 |
12:29 |
22 Sep |
Equinox, 22:09 CDT |
06:38 |
18:48 |
12:10 |
25 Sep |
12-hour day |
06:41 |
18:43 |
12:00 |
3 Oct |
6:30pm sunset |
06:50 |
18:29 |
11:39 |
12 Oct |
7am sunrise |
07:00 |
18:14 |
11:14 |
21 Oct |
6pm sunset |
07:10 |
18:00 |
10:50 |
6 Nov |
Latest sunrise until 6 Nov 2021 Latest sunset until Feb 28th |
07:30 |
17:39 |
10:09 |
7 Nov |
Standard time returns Earliest sunrise until Mar 3rd |
06:31 |
16:38 |
10:07 |
15 Nov |
4:30pm sunset |
06:40 |
16:30 |
9:49 |
2 Dec |
7am sunrise |
07:00 |
16:20 |
9:20 |
8 Dec |
Earliest sunset of the year |
07:06 |
16:20 |
9:14 |
21 Dec |
Solstice, 17:38 CST |
07:15 |
16:23 |
9:08 |
2011 |
3 Jan |
Latest sunrise until Oct. 29th |
07:19 |
16:32 |
9:13 |
27 Jan |
5pm sunset |
07:08 |
17:00 |
9:51 |
5 Feb |
7am sunrise |
07:00 |
17:11 |
10:11 |
20 Feb |
5:30pm sunset |
06:40 |
17:30 |
10:50 |
27 Feb |
6:30am sunrise |
06:29 |
17:39 |
11:09 |
12 Mar |
Earliest sunrise until Apr. 17th Earliest sunset until Oct. 26th |
06:08 |
17:54 |
11:45 |
13 Mar |
Daylight savings time begins Latest sunrise until Oct. 19th Earliest sunset until Sept. 19th |
07:07 |
18:55 |
11:48 |
17 Mar |
7am sunrise, 7pm sunset 12-hour day |
07:00 |
19:00 |
12:00 |
20 Mar |
Equinox 18:21 CDT |
06:55 |
19:03 |
12:08 |
4 Apr |
6:30am sunrise (again) |
06:29 |
19:20 |
12:50 |
13 Apr |
7:30pm sunset |
06:14 |
19:30 |
13:15 |
22 Apr |
6am sunrise |
06:00 |
19:40 |
13:39 |
11 May |
8pm sunset |
05:35 |
20:00 |
14:25 |
16 May |
5:30am sunrise |
05:30 |
20:05 |
14:35 |
15 Jun |
Earliest sunrise of the year |
05:15 |
20:28 |
15:13 |
21 Jun |
Solstice 12:16 CDT 8:30pm sunset |
05:16 |
20:30 |
15:14 |
27 Jun |
Latest sunset of the year |
05:18 |
20:31 |
15:13 |
You can get sunrise information for your location at wx-now.com.
Tomorrow morning's sunrise is the earliest of the year in Chicago.
This bit of useless information was brought to you by the letter Q and the number 5.
Since I'm spending so much time here, I thought I should do a
Raleigh sunrise chart to complement the one
for Chicago. (You can get one for your own location at
http://www.wx-now.com/Sunrise/SunriseChart.aspx.)
An interesting note about 2010: the sunset on November 6th will be the latest sunrise
for most places in the U.S. (7:43 am in Raliegh) until 2021.
Date
|
Significance
|
Sunrise
|
Sunset
|
Daylight
|
2010
|
6 Jan
|
Latest sunrise until Mar. 14th
|
07:26
|
17:17
|
9:50
|
20 Jan
|
5:30pm sunset
|
07:23
|
17:30
|
10:07
|
17 Feb
|
7am sunrise
|
07:00
|
17:59
|
10:59
|
18 Feb
|
6pm sunset
|
06:59
|
18:00
|
11:00
|
12 Mar
|
6:30am sunrise
|
06:30
|
18:20
|
11:49
|
13 Mar
|
Earliest sunrise until Apr. 26th
Earliest sunset until Oct. 31st
|
06:29
|
18:21
|
11:52
|
14 Mar
|
Daylight savings time begins
Latest sunrise until Oct. 22nd
Earliest sunset until Sept. 16th
|
07:28
|
19:22
|
11:54
|
17 Mar
|
12-hour day
|
07:24
|
19:25
|
12:01
|
20 Mar
|
Equinox 13:32 EDT
|
07:19
|
19:27
|
12:08
|
23 Mar
|
7:30pm sunset
|
07:15
|
19:30
|
12:15
|
3 Apr
|
7am sunrise
|
06:59
|
19:39
|
12:40
|
25 Apr
|
6:30am sunrise
|
06:30
|
19:57
|
13:27
|
28 Apr
|
8pm sunset
|
06:27
|
20:00
|
13:33
|
3 Jun
|
6am sunrise
|
06:00
|
20:27
|
14:27
|
7 Jun
|
8:30pm sunset
|
05:59
|
20:30
|
14:31
|
12 Jun
|
Earliest sunrise of the year
|
05:58
|
20:33
|
14:34
|
21 Jun
|
Solstice 07:28 EDT
|
05:59
|
20:35
|
14:35
|
24 Jun
|
6am sunrise
|
06:00
|
20:35
|
14:35
|
28 Jun
|
Latest sunset of the year
|
06:01
|
20:36
|
14:34
|
19 Jul
|
8:30pm sunset
|
06:13
|
20:30
|
14:16
|
10 Aug
|
6:30am sunrise
|
06:30
|
20:11
|
13:39
|
20 Aug
|
8pm sunset
|
06:38
|
20:00
|
13:21
|
10 Sep
|
7:30pm sunset
|
06:54
|
19:30
|
12:36
|
18 Sep
|
7am sunrise
|
07:00
|
19:18
|
12:18
|
22 Sep
|
Equinox, 23:09 EDT
|
07:03
|
19:13
|
12:10
|
26 Sep
|
12-hour day
|
07:07
|
19:07
|
12:00
|
1 Oct
|
7pm sunset
|
07:10
|
18:59
|
11:48
|
23 Oct
|
6:30pm sunset
|
07:29
|
18:30
|
11:00
|
24 Oct
|
7:30am sunrise
|
07:30
|
18:29
|
10:58
|
6 Nov
|
Latest sunrise until 6 Nov 2021
Latest sunset until Mar 7th
|
07:43
|
18:15
|
10:32
|
7 Nov
|
Standard time returns
Earliest sunrise until Mar 3rd
|
06:44
|
17:14
|
10:30
|
23 Nov
|
7am sunrise
|
07:00
|
17:04
|
10:04
|
5 Dec
|
Earliest sunset of the year
|
07:11
|
17:02
|
9:51
|
21 Dec
|
Solstice, 18:38 EST
|
07:22
|
17:05
|
9:43
|
You can get sunrise information
for your location at wx-now.com.
...could be today, depending on which competing definition you use:
A blue moon is a full moon that is not timed to the regular monthly pattern. Most years have twelve full moons which occur approximately monthly, but in addition to those twelve full lunar cycles, each solar calendar year contains an excess of roughly eleven days compared to the lunar year. The extra days accumulate, so that every two or three years (7 times in the 19-year Metonic cycle), there is an extra full moon. The extra moon is called a "blue moon." Different definitions place the "extra" moon at different times.
- In calculating the dates for Lent and Easter, the Clergy identify the Lent Moon. It is thought that historically when the moon's timing was too early, they named an earlier moon as a "betrayer moon" (belewe moon), thus the Lent moon came at its expected time.
- Folklore gave each moon a name according to its time of year. A moon which came too early had no folk name – and was called a blue moon – bringing the correct seasonal timings for future moons.
- The Farmers' Almanac defined blue moon as an extra full moon that occurred in a season; one season was normally three full moons. If a season had four full moons, then the third full moon was named a blue moon.
- Recent popular usage defined a blue moon as the second full moon in a calendar month, stemming from an interpretation error made in 1946 that was discovered in 1999. For example, December 31, 2009 would be a blue moon according to this usage.
So, it's possible today's full moon is a blue moon. Or it's possible the next blue moon will occur November 21st. Or after some volcanic eruption which hasn't happened yet.
Regardless, enjoy it if you can. It only happens...infrequently.
It's time for the semi-annual update of the
Chicago sunrise chart. (You can get one for your own location at
http://www.wx-now.com/Sunrise/SunriseChart.aspx.)
An interesting note about 2010: the sunset on November 6th will be the latest sunrise in Chicago (7:30am) until 2021—and that, only within 4 seconds of precision.
Date
|
Significance
|
Sunrise
|
Sunset
|
Daylight
|
2010
|
3 Jan
|
Latest sunrise until Oct. 29th
|
07:19
|
16:33
|
9:14
|
27 Jan
|
5pm sunset
|
07:08
|
17:00
|
9:51
|
4 Feb
|
7am sunrise
|
07:00
|
17:10
|
10:09
|
20 Feb
|
5:30pm sunset
|
06:39
|
17:30
|
10:50
|
27 Feb
|
6:30am sunrise
|
06:29
|
17:39
|
11:09
|
13 Mar
|
Earliest sunrise until Apr. 18th
Earliest sunset until Oct. 25th
|
06:06
|
17:55
|
11:49
|
14 Mar
|
Daylight savings time begins
Latest sunrise until Oct. 17th
Earliest sunset until Sept. 18th
|
07:04
|
18:56
|
11:52
|
17 Mar
|
7am sunrise, 7pm sunset
12-hour day
|
06:59
|
19:00
|
12:00
|
20 Mar
|
Equinox 12:32 CDT
|
06:54
|
19:04
|
12:09
|
3 Apr
|
6:30am sunrise (again)
|
06:30
|
19:19
|
12:48
|
13 Apr
|
7:30pm sunset
|
06:14
|
19:30
|
13:16
|
22 Apr
|
6am sunrise
|
06:00
|
19:40
|
13:40
|
11 May
|
8pm sunset
|
05:35
|
20:01
|
14:25
|
16 May
|
5:30am sunrise
|
05:30
|
20:06
|
14:35
|
14 Jun
|
Earliest sunrise of the year
|
05:15
|
20:28
|
15:12
|
21 Jun
|
Solstice 06:28 CDT
8:30pm sunset
|
05:16
|
20:30
|
15:14
|
27 Jun
|
Latest sunset of the year
|
05:18
|
20:31
|
15:12
|
2 Jul
|
8:30pm sunset
|
05:20
|
20:30
|
15:10
|
17 Jul
|
5:30am sunrise
|
05:30
|
20:23
|
14:52
|
9 Aug
|
8pm sunset
|
05:53
|
20:00
|
14:06
|
16 Aug
|
6am sunrise
|
06:00
|
19:50
|
13:49
|
29 Aug
|
7:30pm sunset
|
06:14
|
19:29
|
13:16
|
14 Sep
|
6:30am sunrise
|
06:30
|
19:02
|
12:31
|
15 Sep
|
7pm sunset
|
06:31
|
19:00
|
12:29
|
22 Sep
|
Equinox, 22:09 CDT
|
06:38
|
18:48
|
12:10
|
25 Sep
|
12-hour day
|
06:41
|
18:43
|
12:00
|
3 Oct
|
6:30pm sunset
|
06:50
|
18:29
|
11:39
|
12 Oct
|
7am sunrise
|
07:00
|
18:14
|
11:14
|
21 Oct
|
6pm sunset
|
07:10
|
18:00
|
10:50
|
6 Nov
|
Latest sunrise until 6 Nov 2021
Latest sunset until Feb 28th
|
07:30
|
17:39
|
10:09
|
7 Nov
|
Standard time returns
Earliest sunrise until Mar 3rd
|
06:31
|
16:38
|
10:07
|
15 Nov
|
4:30pm sunset
|
06:40
|
16:30
|
9:49
|
2 Dec
|
7am sunrise
|
07:00
|
16:20
|
9:20
|
8 Dec
|
Earliest sunset of the year
|
07:06
|
16:20
|
9:14
|
21 Dec
|
Solstice, 17:38 CST
|
07:15
|
16:23
|
9:08
|
You can get sunrise information
for your location at wx-now.com.
A number of confusing changes occurred to the world while I slept:
- President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. I love the man; I voted for him; I gave lots of money[1] to two of his campaigns. I'm still confused. It might offend some of my fellow progressives to say, but possibly the prize means nothing more than "thank you for not being like the last guy, and keep up the good work." The President is, in fact, the second person who is not George W. Bush to win the Prize in the last four years.
- For reasons which passeth all understanding[2], we crashed a rocket into the moon. We want to find out if the moon has enough water to make long-term habitation possible. Otherwise, we'll have to build a pipeline from the Great Lakes, which poses certain engineering challenges.
- Both of these stories came to me during WBEZ-Chicago's pledge week, which started yesterday. Please, I beg all my readers in Chicago, please make a donation so they'll stop begging. The only glimmer of good news in the timing of the Fall pledge drive comes in the form of an exquisite torture perpetrated upon me and my 118 classmates by Fuqua. I won't be able to listen to much NPR this weekend because:
- I have two final exams due this weekend, both take-home, one 90 minutes long and the other with 24 hours to complete. (The clock starts when we download the exams from the school's web portal.) The professor for exam #1 says it's relatively straightforward, everyone will pass, don't worry. The professor for exam #2, who served six years on the Financial Accounting Standards Board and who drafted important regulations of the accounting profession itself, says "someone who is reasonably prepared and who doesn't need to use notes should be able to complete it in 4 or 5 hours." So, a former FASB member who's taught accounting for 30 years will find it "challenging." One hundred eighteen people started crying. (One dude in our class is an accountant who got 117 out of 120 on the midterm.)
- The U.S. dollar continues to slide slowly into uncomfortable depths. I got an alert while writing this entry that the Canadian dollar has risen against our currency from a low of 76c in March to 95c today. We're also slipping against the Euro and the Yen, but not, I'm happy to say, against Sterling or the Emirati Dirham, the two currencies I'm concerned about in the next few weeks.[3]
- Finally, a dear friend from North Carolina sent a delightful finals-weekend care package to Parker and me, including doggie fortune cookies and human chocolate-chip cookies. And now Parker has the whole world in his paws (see below).
[1] Lots for me, anyway; NPR wouldn't have given me a mug for the amount I gave.
[2] Aaron Sorkin's favorite phrase, from Phillippans 4:7. Yes, athiests quote Bible verses sometimes.
[3] I'm concerned because I'm about to go to Dubai, via London, for school. The Dirham hasn't changed because it's pegged to the dollar...for now.
It's time for the semi-annual update of the Chicago sunrise chart. (You can get one for your own location at http://www.wx-now.com/Sunrise/SunriseChart.aspx.)
Date |
Significance |
Sunrise |
Sunset |
Daylight |
2009 |
2 Jul |
8:30pm sunset |
05:20 |
20:30 |
15:10 |
16 Jul |
5:30am sunrise |
05:30 |
20:24 |
14:54 |
9 Aug |
8pm sunset |
05:53 |
19:59 |
14:06 |
16 Aug |
6am sunrise |
06:00 |
19:50 |
13:49 |
29 Aug |
7:30pm sunset |
06:14 |
19:29 |
13:16 |
14 Sep |
6:30am sunrise |
06:30 |
19:02 |
12:31 |
15 Sep |
7pm sunset |
06:31 |
19:00 |
12:29 |
22 Sep |
Equinox, 16:18 CDT |
06:38 |
18:48 |
12:09 |
25 Sep |
12-hour day |
06:42 |
18:43 |
12:01 |
3 Oct |
6:30pm sunset |
06:50 |
18:29 |
11:39 |
12 Oct |
7am sunrise |
07:00 |
18:14 |
11:14 |
21 Oct |
6pm sunset |
07:10 |
18:00 |
10:50 |
31 Oct |
Latest sunrise until 1 Nov. 2010 Latest sunset until Mar 6th |
07:23 |
17:46 |
10:24 |
1 Nov |
Standard time returns Earliest sunrise until Mar 3rd |
06:24 |
16:45 |
10:21 |
6 Nov |
6:30am sunrise (again) |
06:30 |
16:39 |
10:08 |
15 Nov |
4:30pm sunset |
06:41 |
16:30 |
9:48 |
2 Dec |
7am sunrise |
07:00 |
16:21 |
9:20 |
8 Dec |
Earliest sunset of the year |
07:06 |
16:20 |
9:14 |
21 Dec |
Solstice, 11:47 CST |
07:15 |
16:23 |
9:08 |
2010 |
3 Jan |
Latest sunrise until Oct. 29th |
07:19 |
16:33 |
9:14 |
27 Jan |
5pm sunset |
07:08 |
17:00 |
9:51 |
4 Feb |
7am sunrise |
07:00 |
17:10 |
10:09 |
20 Feb |
5:30pm sunset |
06:39 |
17:30 |
10:50 |
27 Feb |
6:30am sunrise |
06:29 |
17:39 |
11:09 |
13 Mar |
Earliest sunrise until Apr. 18th Earliest sunset until Oct. 25th |
06:06 |
17:55 |
11:49 |
14 Mar |
Daylight savings time begins Latest sunrise until Oct. 17th Earliest sunset until Sept. 18th |
07:04 |
18:56 |
11:52 |
17 Mar |
7am sunrise, 7pm sunset 12-hour day |
06:59 |
19:00 |
12:00 |
20 Mar |
Equinox 12:32 CDT |
06:54 |
19:04 |
12:09 |
3 Apr |
6:30am sunrise (again) |
06:30 |
19:19 |
12:48 |
13 Apr |
7:30pm sunset |
06:14 |
19:30 |
13:16 |
22 Apr |
6am sunrise |
06:00 |
19:40 |
13:40 |
11 May |
8pm sunset |
05:35 |
20:01 |
14:25 |
16 May |
5:30am sunrise |
05:30 |
20:06 |
14:35 |
14 Jun |
Earliest sunrise of the year |
05:15 |
20:28 |
15:12 |
21 Jun |
Solstice 06:28 CDT 8:30pm sunset |
05:16 |
20:30 |
15:14 |
27 Jun |
Latest sunset of the year |
05:18 |
20:31 |
15:12 |
You can get sunrise information for your location at wx-now.com.
Spring officially begins Friday at 6:44 CDT, but today we're getting a little hint of it. Right now it's 19°C in Chicago; if it can squeak up to 22°C it will be the warmest day since October 12th.
Another trivial tidbit: because the earth's atmosphere bends the sun's rays a little, today, and not the official equinox Friday, is the day when we have 12 hours of daylight. From tomorrow until September 25th, days are longer than nights just about everywhere between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle.
Update, 14:05 CDT: Yep, we just hit 22°C, warmest temperature in Chicago for 156 days. Why am I inside?
Yesterday was the 30th consecutive day below freezing in Chicago. The chart doesn't show that we've had only 10 hours above freezing all year. The last time we had 24 hours above freezing was December 27th.
One little bit of good news: Today the sun sets after 5pm for the first time since October, as each day becomes noticably longer than the one before.
Roll on April...