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Global Temperature Project

Answer to sunrise & sunset questions

Posted by Mrs. Looney's Looney Tunes on Monday, 4 December 19100, at 2:42 p.m.

Hey, everybody!

We've had a blast doing this project last week. It was fun and educational, but at times, confusing. We had a couple of questions about what defines sunrise and sunset and how do scientists KNOW ahead of time when it will happen. Here is the email we got back from Josh's expert. Hope this helps you like it did us.

Mrs. Looney's Looney Tunes (see our picture in the photo gallery)

Hi Mrs. Looney-

Thanks for your question :-)

Scientist compute sunrise and sunset using complex mathematical equations. The equations take into account the Sun's position and latitude/longitude of the location in question, to calculate the sunrise and sunset times. The times are not always exact...they may vary by a few minutes either way.

Sunrise is the exact time that the top of the Sun's disk is visible on the horizon. Likewise, sunset is the moment that the top of Sun's disk sinks below the horizon. The period of light you see before the Sun rises and after the Sun sets is called Twilight.

I hope I answered your question fully.......If not, feel free to e-mail me back.

-Ben Papandrea
Meteorologist

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