Why does the shortest evening occur the first part of December and the shortest morning occur the first part of January?

Answer 1

The lengths of days relate to the rotation of the Earth. When the Earth is closer to the sun, the days are longer, when further from the sun, the days are shorter.

<<>>

What causes the offset of about 2½ weeks between the shortest evening and the shortest morning is something called the equation of time, which is changing at the time of the December Solstice. It causes the Sun to cross the meridian a few minutes before or after noon.

On December 13 the equation of time is 6 minutes so that the Sun crosses the meridian six minutes early (at 11.54), while by December 30 the Sun has become 'slow' and it does not cross the meridian until 12.03.

This change in the equation of time is enough to displace the shortest evening and the shortest morning either side of the solstice by 8-9 days.

Answer 2

The shortest day of the year in December occurs because the tilt of the Earth's axis causes the northern hemisphere to receive less direct sunlight. This results in shorter days and longer nights. The shortest morning in January happens because the Earth's elliptical orbit causes sunrise to be slightly delayed, making mornings appear shorter around that time.

Answer 3

the earth is slightly tilted away which gives less area for sun to hit