Our 24-hour clock is based on the average length of the solar day. The day of the winter solstice is sometimes called the “shortest day of the year” (because it has the shortest period of sunlight). But it could also be called the ‘longest day of the year’, because the longest solar day falls on or just after the solstice. Because the solar days are longer, the earliest sunset of the year occurs before the solstice and the last sunrise of the year (ignoring daylight saving time) occurs after the solstice. For the Washington, DC area, the sunsets on Friday and Saturday December 6 and 7, 2024 are the same as the earliest sunsets. On Friday, dawn begins at 6:10 a.m. EST, sunrise is at 7:13 a.m., solar noon is at 11:59 a.m. when the sun reaches its maximum altitude of 28.5 degrees, and sunset is at 4 p.m.: 4:50 PM and twilight ends at 5:49 PM. On Saturday, morning twilight will begin at 6:11 a.m. EST, sunrise will be at 7:14 a.m., solar noon will actually be at 12:00 p.m., when the sun will reach its maximum altitude of 28.4 degrees, and sunset will start at 4:45:50 PM and the evening twilight will end at 5:49 PM.