Why does dusk fall so quickly at the equator?

Question

Why does dusk fall so quickly at the equator?

Answer 1

At the equator, the sun always sets at the same time.  The earth has an tilt to it.  The top of the earth is always pointed in the same direction so sometimes the Northern Hemisphere is closer to the sun and sometimes the Southern Hemisphere is closer to the sun, which accounts for the differences of seasons.  However, the equator is exactly in the middle and so it is always the same distance from the sun.  Therefore, the sun always sets at the same time at the equator.  So if it's summer where you live and you go to the equator, even though the sun will set very late at your home, it will set the same time it always does at the equator.  Similarly, if it's winter where you live and you go to the equator, it would appear to set later because it is setting at the same time it always sets.

Answer 2

it must be summer at your place right??......i"m sure someone experincing winter wuld say the opposite.....

here we have fair share of light and dark....24/7 all year round....

Answer 3

wow....

think of "Dusk" as being the "time it takes the Sun to get far enough below the horizon for true dark".

now,  as the Sun doesn't "speed up"... it travels the same speed per distance whereever it goes, then you should be able to see that if the Sun intersects the horizon on a  sharp angle, it will get farther below the horizon faster, than if it hit the horizon at a narrow angle?  Very far North, where the Sun hits the horizon at a severely acute angle, it may well NEVER get true dark.

This is why there are so few Drive-In Theatres in Norway.

Answer 4

At the equinox, the sun rises and sets perpendicular (90°) to the horizon; so one hour after sunset, the sun is 15° below the horizon. At the solstice, the angle is 66.5°; so one hour after sunset, the sun is 13.75° below the horizon. At higher altitudes, when the sun rises and sets at 45° to the horizon, one hour after sunset, the sun is only 10.6° below the horizon. When it set at 30°, one hour after sunset, it is only 7.5° below the horizon.

Answer 5

At 0° latitude, the sun pretty much comes up at East, goes overhead, and sets at West.  6:00 for sunrise, 6:00 for sunset.

At latitudes between the tropics (Tropic of Cancer or Tropic of Capricorn) and the arctic circles (Arctic Circle or Antarctic Circle), the declination of the Earth's axis means that in summer, the sun comes up earlier, because your part of the Earth is slanted towards the sun, and you have less time on the dark side.  In winter, your part of the Earth is tilted away from the sun, and you have more time on the dark side.

If you live north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic circle, then in summer, your part of the Earth is tilted towards the sun all (24-hour) day long.  In winter, your part of the Earth is tilted away from the sun all (24-hour) night long.

Answer 6

If by quickly you mean it gets dark pretty fast, that's because the circumference of the Earth is greatest at the equator, hence the rotational speed is higher there. Dawn and dusk is over quickly because of that.