The sunset over Golden Gate Bridge seen from Treasure Island. Photo: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images
The summer solstice has passed, but the latest sunsets of the year are happening now through early July for San Francisco.
Why it matters: Longer days and later sunsets are the ultimate announcement of summer's arrival for many of us in cloud-bound, seasonally sun-starved cities.
What's happening: In the Northern Hemisphere, the latest sunsets come after the summer solstice because the day is more than 24 hours long at this time of the year, writes Bruce McClure of the astronomical website EarthSky.
Due to the tilt of the Earth's axis, days at the beginning of summer are nearly 15 seconds longer than 24 hours. Therefore, the midday sun, or solar noon, occurs slightly later in the day than it did on June 20, per McClure.
That means sunrise and sunset also occur later.
People In the Southern Hemisphere are currently seeing the latest sunrises of the year, McClure writes.
Zoom in: San Francisco's sunset on June 20 (summer solstice) occurred at 8:34pm, but it will be a minute later for the rest of the month, according to Time and Date.
Civil twilight, when the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon and you can start to see stars, occurs at 9:06pm.
