Short answer: darkness outside right now is due to local time, Earth's tilt, and the Sun’s position in its annual orbit, which together shorten daylight hours in November in the Northern Hemisphere. Details
- Shorter daylight in late autumn: The tilt of the Earth (about 23.5 degrees) means that during fall and winter the Northern Hemisphere leans away from the Sun. This reduces the angle and duration of sunlight each day, causing earlier sunsets and later sunrises. As a result, after sunset it stays dark for longer portions of the day. This is a natural, seasonal pattern that repeats annually.
- Your location and local time matter: The exact timing of sunset and darkness depends on your latitude and longitude, plus whether daylight saving time is in effect. Closer to your winter solstice, days are shortest, and the night period is longest.
- Sky brightness factors: If you’re noticing it’s darker earlier than you expect, it could also feel brighter later if you have significant artificial light (light pollution) or if thin cloud cover reflects city lights back down, but the core cause of earlier darkness is the seasonal Sun path.
Practical ways to verify current darkness
- Check local sunrise/sunset times for your location for today and nearby dates; you’ll see sunset progressively earlier through autumn and into winter.
- Observe the Sun’s altitude at noon—it's lower in the sky as we move toward winter, which correlates with shorter days.
- If you’re curious about tonight’s sky, you can note moon phase and bright planets to understand what’s visible after sunset.
If you share your approximate location (city or coordinates), I can give more precise sunset and sunrise times for today and the coming days.
