SEATTLE — The sun will start to set after 7 p.m. when Daylight Saving Time takes effect on Sunday.
On March 10, the sun will set at 7:08 p.m. in Seattle, according to both timeanddate.com and almanac.com.
Seattle will continue to gain daylight until the summer solstice on June 21, the longest day of the year. The sun will rise at 5:11 a.m. and set at 9:11 p.m.
Why do we have more daylight in the spring and summer?
At different times of the year, the earth's axis is pointed toward or away from the sun, meaning the southern and northern hemispheres receive different amounts of daylight depending on the time of year.
During the spring and summer in the northern hemisphere, the north pole is tilted toward the sun, and during the fall and winter, the north pole is tilted away from the sun.
This means that physically, the sun's path across the sky is longer in the spring and summer, when the north pole is closer to the sun, and shorter in the fall and winter, when the north pole is tilted away from the sun, according to the U.S. Navy's Astronomical Applications Department.
At two different times of the year, in March and September, the sun shines for an equal amount of time in both the southern and northern hemispheres, according to the National Weather Service. At these times, the earth's axis is tilted neither toward, nor away from the sun, "resulting in a 'nearly' equal amount of daylight and darkness at all latitudes," according to the NWS.