Last And First 2024 2

Well, what a crop of fascinating phenomena this year’s ‘Last and First’ has turned up!

Thank you to all who took part. Let’s get started.

My own efforts at a sunset were clouded out:

Things got more interesting an hour and a half later, however. That’s when I fired up the barbecue for our evening Yule celebration.

I looked up and saw an unusual light in the sky:

The time was 1739hr looking WSW.

The elevation was approximately 10 degrees. The light was bright against the clouds and seemingly stationary. It lasted about 4 or 5 minutes before fading.

At the moment I don’t know what it is. Here’s what I have been able to rule out, however:

Helicopter (the Police say it wasn’t one of theirs)

Laser (because it was white and with slightly fuzzy rather than defined edges)

Aircraft (flight KLM30J was in the area but the light was unmoving and there was nothing else on the radar in the area at the same time)

Sunbeam (the sun had set an hour and a half before)

Geminid meteor (again, the light didn’t move)

At first I thought that it was the planet Venus but on looking the next night the light had not been in the correct position. The second night (clearer conditions) I could see Venus but it was further round to the south at that time.

I have contacted the Civil Aviation Authority to see if they have any ideas. I’ll let you know what they say.

So, I was posting my sunset shot on Facebook later that evening. It was not even midnight here and I got my first sunrise photo!

This was from Shad in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The new day was already dawning!

From that point it was sunrises all the way!

This was sunrise for Mariame in Germany.

Then sunrise in Trinidad:

Thanks to Mary for those spectacular shots!

Then came another surprise. Forty minutes after I took my sunrise photo in the UK, Josh sent in his sunrise photo… from Brazil!

Now that gave me pause. Wasn’t Brazil three hours (timezones) after the UK? How could he have sunrise less than an hour after me?

Because the earth is a sphere.

You can see what is going on from the illumination of the whole earth. Here is what was illuminated by the sun at the time:

(Side note, you can see that at the top of that map where the sun does not shine during the day at this time of the year and that Antarctica is in permanent daylight.)

But wait, you say, why is the path of the illumination curved?

It isn’t. The earth is both a sphere and tilted on its axis, that’s what makes a flat projection seem curved.

This is what the earth would look like from space at that time. You can see Brazil clearly lit and the UK just at the top of the terminator.

Take a look over Africa at the same time and you would see this:

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why sunrise happens in Brazil only forty minutes after sunrise in the UK despite being three hours apart in longitude.

Well, what a tour of the planet that has been. *Phew*

Thank you once again to all those who took part.

Some surprises, some education and an ongoing mystery… What a way to see in the new year!

I hope you’ve enjoyed it and I wish you all the very best for the New Year.

************

Edited: Sam was a late entry but also wanted to be included.

Here’s his shot of sunrise at La Clusaz, near Geneva, Switzerland

A nice snowy scene, appropriate for the season!

Well, it turns out there is another photo…

This was taken by a friend of Ed’s. It is of the last sunset from Long Island, NY looking west over the Sound toward Connecticut:

Thanks for that, Ed.

[UPDATE] Also, I have had a reply from the Civil Aviation Authority on the mysterious light (see start of this post). It reads as follows:

Thank you for contacting us, and apologies for the delay in replying.

Unfortunately, we cannot provide any specific insight into the origin of the light you observed on 20 December 2024. It was likely some form of atmospheric phenomenon, possibly light reflecting off a cloud.

Sorry we cannot be of more help.

If I get anything else, I’ll let you know. It’s interesting to start the year with a little mystery, don’t you think?