Geography conundrum...?

Question

Why does it get dark earlier in New Hampshire than it does in Georgia, even though both are in the same time zone? My husband says that it's because where we live in NH is alot farther east than where my parents live in southwest GA (where I visited last week), which is right on the CST/EST border. Is this the reason why it gets dark a full hour and a half earlier in NH?

Answer 1

Actually there are two effects going on here, both of which result in New Hampshire having an earlier sunset. One effect is exactly what your husband said. The people on the western edge of a time zone will have later sunrises and sunsets than those on the eastern edge. The other factor is that NH is farther North than GA, which means it will have shorter days in the winter.

Answer 2

Time of sunrise and sunset is a function of longitude and not time zone. Time zones are a convenient fiction having more to do with keeping neighboring towns on the same time. By observing a globe or map you will be able to see that Georgia has a more westerly longitude than New Hampshire. Solar events like sunrise and sunset will be different for places at the same latitude, but different longitudes.

Answer 3

It's both NH being farther east, and being farther north on the autumn/winter side of the equinoxes.

Answer 4

Your husband is right--the further east you are, the sooner the sun is going to be setting, even within the time zone. The further north you are will also have some impact.

Answer 5

It has to do with how far north you live, not how far east. People in Alaska deal with really weird night/day patterns.

Answer 6

Thats right, give your husband a cookie.