The Summer Solstice, the latest sunset, and the earliest sunrise. #111Words #SummerSolstice #Sunrise #Sunset #Astronomy #EllipticalOrbit https://andrewjshields.blogspot.com/2023/06/the-summer-solstice-latest-sunset-and.html
It's all due to the Earth's elliptical orbit. If the orbit was perfectly circular, the difference would be constant (if on the Greenwich meridian, 0; if at 8.6E as in this example, about 34 minutes). An elliptical orbit means the Earth moves more slowly when further from the Sun, and faster when near. Today, 4 Jan 2022, is the perihelion: the moment when the Earth is nearest the sun and moving fastest.