Manhattanhenge, an event during which the setting sun or the rising sun is aligned with the east–west streets of the main street grid of Manhattan
If you happened to be up this morning at just after 7 a.m. EDT and looked out to see the sun, you were far from alone. At that very moment, 99% of the world’s population – almost eight billion people – were able to see some sunlight all at the same moment in time.
It’s notable that this temporal phenomenon does not fall on the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the longest day of the year. Rather, it takes place as the earth tilts ever so slightly from the sun, thus shortening the average day but exposing populations further south to more hours of daylight.
A few caveats are necessary: First, not everyone will experience the same intensity of the sun’s rays. Some will experience them at sunrise or shortly thereafter, while 16% will some form of twilight, with some experiencing experience dark twilight, which is ne’er indistinguishable from darkness.
Only 83% of the world’s population will experience what we would consider true daylight, however.
Another caveat: Many people think of the world as balanced in terms of population between the Northern and Southern hemispheres, but, truth be told, 90% of the world’s population lives north of the equator.
If this doesn’t excite you terribly much, cheer up: You can start to count down to December 5, 2023, a day when 85% of the world’s population will collectively experience night.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
