What's it like having the sun rise so early in Maine? (Caribou: live, bus)

[Mapmatician]

I found this neat website called Time and Date which shows the sunrise times of each place in the world. I had found out that the sun rises REALLY early in Maine during the summer, with some places experiencing the sunrise at 4:40 AM with civil twilight at 4 in the freaking morning. This sounds like heaven to me since I'm an early bird.

[Maine Writer]

It's the best. I'm up early and wake to birdsong. It's nice to rise, look out the window, and see across the field, orchard, and into the woods. It's hard for me to get motivated when the day starts in darkness.

[Parnassia]

This isn't unique to Maine. It is due to ME's higher latitude and the tilt of the earth. Remember, those early sunrises/long days in summer will be counteracted by (sorta paid for ) later sunrises/shorter days in winter. You think ME's extreme? Try AK and northern Canada. Depending on where you are the sun doesn't really set at all in midsummer. It sort of dips closer to the horizon for a couple of hours. Conversely, in the depths of winter it barely peeps over the horizon all day and disappears again.

[mainegrl2011]

It's sorta kinda the opposite of dark at 3:50 p.m. in December (Maine).

[Mapmatician]

Originally Posted by Parnassia

This isn't unique to Maine. It is due to ME's higher latitude and the tilt of the earth. Remember, those early sunrises/long days in summer will be counteracted by (sorta paid for ) later sunrises/shorter days in winter. You think ME's extreme? Try AK and northern Canada. Depending on where you are the sun doesn't really set at all in midsummer. It sort of dips closer to the horizon for a couple of hours. Conversely, in the depths of winter it barely peeps over the horizon all day and disappears again.

I am aware of how higher latitudes can affect daylight hours, but since Maine is on the extreme eastern edge of the Eastern Time Zone, the sun never rises later than 7:30.

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by Mapmatician

I found this neat website called Time and Date which shows the sunrise times of each place in the world. I had found out that the sun rises REALLY early in Maine during the summer, with some places experiencing the sunrise at 4:40 AM with civil twilight at 4 in the freaking morning. This sounds like heaven to me since I'm an early bird.

I love the lonnng days around Summer Solstice in northern latitudes, but the flip side is, you get the real short days around Winter Solstice - the latitude giveth and the latitude taketh away.

[TheseGoTo11]

Rule of thumb in mid-latitudes is earliest June sunrise is approximately the earliest Dec sunset adjusted for daylight savings and am/pm. In Boston, for example earliest December sunset is 4:12pm, earliest June sunrise is 5:06am (4:06 standard time). Caribou, ME and it's 3:44pm sunset, 4:37am sunrise.

I hated both the early sunrises and early sunsets when I lived in New England, and I never lived north of Massachusetts.

[svband76]

Many believe Maine should be on Atlantic Time. The 3:45 pm sunsets in December are mentally tough.

[Mapmatician]

Originally Posted by svband76

Many believe Maine should be on Atlantic Time. The 3:45 pm sunsets in December are mentally tough.

Not as tough as having to start the day at 6 and not see daylight until 7:45.

[Maine Writer]

Originally Posted by svband76

Many believe Maine should be on Atlantic Time. The 3:45 pm sunsets in December are mentally tough.

Keeping track of my vitamin D level and supplementing as needed changed winter for me. Early sunset is time to stop work and fill the wood stove. Tend to outdoors chores, change my music, maybe pour a glass of wine, and start preparing a hearty meal. We eat earlier (if my husband isn't late), relax, enjoy, read, maybe play cribbage, or watch a movie we wouldn't make time for in summer.

Originally Posted by Mapmatician

Not as tough as having to start the day at 6 and not see daylight until 7:45.

I don't like seeing kids waiting for the bus at 6:30-7 am when it's dark. People working in the woods over here are starting heavy equipment by 3 am, which is also the time my husband's phone starts his work day. Life gets busy early for a lot of Mainers.