Well, it is officially winter! The time and date of the solstice change ever so slightly by year, but this year’s solstice occurs at 11:28 a.m. Eastern Time. The winter solstice marks the shortest period of daylight in the Northern Hemisphere. However, today is not the day of the latest sunrise or earliest sunset. Rather, most areas within mid-latitudes witness the earliest sunset two weeks prior to the solstice, while the latest sunrise does not occur until the beginning of January!