Guest 112233
25th Aug 2009, 17:28
Ok - this one may have been done to death many years ago but here goes.
Imagine that you are at the latitude of the UK in mid/late summer and that you take off heading West say 10 minutes after sunset from ground level and climb fairly quickly in a passenger airliner at say 2500 ft per min - Will you see the sun rise and set again.
I know the speed of rotation of the earth's surface but given the geometry of climbing just after sunset does I think make it possible. The reason I ask is that from a childhood memory I think that I did see the sunset twice.
It was a Viscount in mid August leaving BHX for DUB, take off was at about 20.00 Hours hence the figures - obviously latitude matters, and time after sunset as well as aircraft performance - E G an F104 or Concorde just as the limb of the sun sinks below the horizon would be an extreame example.
Sorry it this is a repeat but the Maths and Geometry of the Idea make it a nice little conjecture.
Is my memory faulty ?
Thanks CAT III
Imagine that you are at the latitude of the UK in mid/late summer and that you take off heading West say 10 minutes after sunset from ground level and climb fairly quickly in a passenger airliner at say 2500 ft per min - Will you see the sun rise and set again.
I know the speed of rotation of the earth's surface but given the geometry of climbing just after sunset does I think make it possible. The reason I ask is that from a childhood memory I think that I did see the sunset twice.
It was a Viscount in mid August leaving BHX for DUB, take off was at about 20.00 Hours hence the figures - obviously latitude matters, and time after sunset as well as aircraft performance - E G an F104 or Concorde just as the limb of the sun sinks below the horizon would be an extreame example.
Sorry it this is a repeat but the Maths and Geometry of the Idea make it a nice little conjecture.
Is my memory faulty ?
Thanks CAT III