•At mid-northern latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, the earliest sunrises of the year happen around mid-June, despite the fact that the summer solstice - the year's longest day - comes about a week thereafter. And If you live at middle latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere, the earliest sunsets also take place around mid-June, even though the winter solstice - the year's shortest day - isn't for another week.
• For those of you who are privileged enough to be outdoors before one of these early sunrises, you'll find some of the most beautiful dawn twilights of the year … and, in June 2012, you'll also find the sky's two brightest planets adorning the eastern dawn. As seen

from northerly latitudes, these worlds are found to the lower left of the June 14 waning crescent moon: Jupiter and Venus. Venus is the brighter of the two planets, but may be the harder to see because it sits significantly closer to the glow of morning twilight.
• Rising times of the sun, moon and morning planets
• The exact date of earliest sunrise varies with latitude. At 40 degrees north latitude - the latitude of, say, Philadelphia in Pennsylvania - the earliest sunrise of the year will happen tomorrow. For that same latitude, the latest sunset of the year will fall on or near June 27. This is in spite of the fact that the longest day of the year (in terms of daylight) comes on the June 20 summer solstice.