Why is the sun rises in Chicago at 6:36 am EDT, six minutes before it rises in Orlando at 6:42 am EDT.?

Question

Chicago is west of Orlando, but they get the sun first.

Answer 1

More latitude difference than longitude.

About 5 degrees logitude but about 14 degrees latitude.

The link below doesn't have Orlando. But it does have Tampa & you can even compare Chicago & Atlanta & see the relative differences.

Answer 2

The Earth is a sphere and its axis of rotation is tilted 23.5 degrees relative to the direction of the Sun. Because of this tilt, points on the surface at the same longitude, but different latitudes see the sun rise and set at different times.

In the summer, when the poles of the northern hemisphere are pointed toward the sun, places with a higher latitude have an earlier sunrise. In the winter, the opposite is true. Chicago is much higher North than Orlando.

Visualize it like this. You're in space looking at the Earth from a distance. One half is dark, the other light. The line dividing the two halves is the called the terminator. Sunrise and sunset occurs for any location at the terminator. This line is perpendicular to the incoming sunlight.

However, the axis about which the Earth spins is slanted. So as it turns, if you keep an eye on just one line of longitude, you'll see that part of that line reaches the terminator before the rest. (Latitude and longitude are drawn perpendicular and parallel to the axis, not the Sun.)

Answer 3

It is summer. The Earth is tilted toward the sun right now. Chicago is further north than Orlando. Since the Earth is not a perfect sphere, the further north you go in the summer, the more daylight you get.

Answer 4

Has to do with Earth's rotation relative to the ecliptic plane. Earth has a huge bulge cause of the Moon's and Sun's constant tuggle by gravity.
Helllo? Common sense.