How many sunsets could you see on Earth in one day?
Hypothetically, if you started at a location on Earth where the Sun was setting and travelled westward at the speed Earth turned to the east, then you could remain in a state of constant sunset. In 2014, an ex-NATO pilot, a photographer and a filmmaker attempted to follow the sunset around the globe, through all 24 time zones, as a publicity campaign. They didn’t quite make it, but their effort provides a look into the science of sunset chasing.
If you wanted to follow the sunrise or sunset you would need to stay in the same position relative to the Sun as the Earth turns underneath you. To do that at the equator, where the planet is at its maximum circumference around its axis of rotation, you’d have to fly at 1,609 kilometres (1,000 miles) per hour. That’s extremely fast; most commercial aeroplanes fly at a cruising speed of 740 to 925 kilometres (460 to 575 miles) per hour, whereas the US Navy’s Blue Angels air display team flies at a maximum speed of 1,126 kilometres (700 miles) per hour during air shows.
Concorde jets, which could reach a speed of 2,179 kilometres (1,354 miles) per hour, could have kept up with Earth’s rotation – even at the equator – but the jets stopped flying in 2003. They may not have chased the sunset, but Concorde’s flights from London to Dulles International Airport in Virginia let passengers catch two sunsets – one as the plane took off in London and another after it landed near DC.
“If you wanted to follow the sunset you would need to stay in the same position relative to the Sun as the Earth turns underneath you”
Ashley Taylor