# West-East flight: I want to catch the sunrise... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 16, 2000, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-east-flight-i-want-to-catch-the-sunrise/22557 "2000-06-16T06:27:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aviddiva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@aviddiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aviddiva)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2000, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-east-flight-i-want-to-catch-the-sunrise/22557/1 "2000-06-16T06:27:10Z")
O.K. This probably could have gone in GQ, but it’s pretty mundane and pointless, so here it is (plus, I’ve never posted in MPSIMS). I’ll be flying from Vancouver to Toronto, 11pm pacific time to 6:30am eastern, so I’ll be flying into the sunset (at about the 49th parallel). My question is should i try to sit on the port (northern view) or starboard (southern view) to get the best view of the sunset? Acknowledging that none of us knows the precise route the aircraft will take, is there anyone out there who has/is willing to put more thought than i have/am into the tilt of the earth at roughly solstice and the rising of the sun this time of year? ---
**Author:** ![pluto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f08c70/32.png) [@pluto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pluto)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2000, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-east-flight-i-want-to-catch-the-sunrise/22557/2 "2000-06-16T11:12:54Z")
Sunrise at solstice will be at 23-1/2 degrees North. So it will be south of pretty much anywhere in North America, much less Canada. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2000, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-east-flight-i-want-to-catch-the-sunrise/22557/3 "2000-06-16T11:36:50Z")
Wrongo, pluto. If she’s on the right side of the plane, she’ll be facing SSW and miss sunrise altogether. aviddiva, you’ll be flying into the _sunrise_ in a general ESE direction. The azimuth of the sun at sunrise in Toronto _today_ is about 34[sup]o[/sup] north of east. The time of the sunrise was about 5:35 ET. So sit on the port (left) side of the plane. Start watching about 1 hour before arrival, and you should see it. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2000, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-east-flight-i-want-to-catch-the-sunrise/22557/4 "2000-06-16T11:43:45Z")
But my figures are close enough, being that the Summer Solstice is only 5 days away. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2000, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-east-flight-i-want-to-catch-the-sunrise/22557/5 "2000-06-16T18:35:21Z")
\>\> it’s pretty mundane and pointless You should be kinder to those of us who waste our lives on this kind of trivia. You do not give a date and I assume the times are approximate. Anyway, the distance between Vancouver and Toronto is about 1840 NM (2120 mi) and the resulting speed seems a tad on the slow side. Maybe they make a coffee stop mid way to kill time. 🙂 The final heading (great circle) would be about 117 and the sun would rise at about 057 so it would be about 60 to your left. I am a frequent traveler and have been on many overnight flights and cannot see why anybody would prefer to have a window seat. I hate them. seeing the sun rise? You may be disappointed… or you may just be different from me… many people are. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![aviddiva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@aviddiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aviddiva)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2000, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-east-flight-i-want-to-catch-the-sunrise/22557/6 "2000-06-18T15:53:00Z")
Thanks for the input. I was tending toward the port/north side already, and you’ve just confirmed it. **sailor** , 3 of those hours are nothin’, as i go from pacific time to eastern, so it’s actually a four and a half hour flight. And yes, I know, nothing is pointless and mundane to the teeming millions. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2000, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-east-flight-i-want-to-catch-the-sunrise/22557/7 "2000-06-18T23:06:48Z")
\>\> 3 of those hours are nothin’, as i go from pacific time to eastern, so it’s actually a four and a half hour flight I am not sure I understand. In any case, 1840 NM (2120 mi) in 4.5 hrs (which is what I used) is about 410 knots which is kind of slow for a jet, especially taking into account you are eastbound. As I say, they probably do it on purpose to kill time and not dump you at the end in the middle of the night… or is is one of those airlines where all the passengers have to pedal to keep the plane in the air? 🙂