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The Sunrise, Sunset, and Noontime Phenomena in Different Locations along the
Same Longitude

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Science Education and Outreach: Forging a Path to the Future
ASP Conference Series, Vol. 431
Jonathan Barnes, Denise A. Smith, Michael G. Gibbs, and James G. Manning, eds.
c 2010 Astronomical Society of the Pacific
!

The Sunrise, Sunset, and Noontime Phenomena in Different

Locations along the Same Longitude

Dr. Taha Massalha

The Academic Arab College for Education, Haifa, Israel,
tahamas@ gmail.com

1. Introduction

Throughout this past decade, we have studied the sunrise and sunset times in the Holy
Land and their integration in school programs (Massalha & Abadi, 2006; Massalha &
Timor, 2004).
Specifically, we have evaluated the importance of recognizing such daily natural
phenomena as related to sunrise and sunset times, understanding them better and invok-
ing curiosity and thinking processes in students (Massalha & Abadi, 2008). We have
also shown how important these time measurements are to local inhabitants in their
planning of annual events (festivities and holidays) and daily prayer times.
The research population included students of various sectors in Israel—Christian,
Jewish, Moslem and Druze, since all share the concern of setting daily prayer times and
year round holidays (Aveni, 1993; Richards, 1999). In the ASP convention of Septem-
ber 2007, I presented a segment of my study along with some of the measurements
completed by that date and the results obtained (Massalha, 2008).
At the pace of the Astronomy Year, this paper will present the findings of a follow
up study conducted over the past year jointly with physics students in Israel, Saudi
Arabia and Turkey, and discuss in greater detail the concept of time, differentiating
between Civil Time and Solar Time (DeVorkin, 1986).

2. The Concepts of Time Measurements

Time is a physical dimension, measurable by a number of methods subject to the phys-

ical concept applied. These include:

1. The mechanical clock (spring, sand, water or candlelight operated), where the
stored mechanical energy is released by constant doses and at regular intervals
which compose the time unit;
2. The digital (electric) clock, where electrical energy replaces the spring energy
and is also released by preset doses and at regular intervals to advance the digits;
3. The solar clock, where time is measured by the Earth position relatively to the
sun. This measurement relies on the daily manifestation of a natural phenomenon
and follows the Earth rotation about own axis. The time unit measured is a 24
hour interval, which is the time elapsing from the moment when the sun is first
observed in a specific location and the moment when it is again observed in the
490
 Sunrise, Sunset, and Noontime Phenomena 491

same location. To measure time by the solar clock, we rely on the changes to the
shadow size and bearings. The solar clock by which the solar time is measured
can be said to simulate the natural clock most closely (Massalha, 2008).

3. The Concept of Time

Our daily lives are managed by the civil time as measured by our wristwatches, clocks,
and, more recently, cellular phone clocks. Civil time is that which serves us in our
social and business pursuits, as opposed to the Solar time, which is measured relatively
to a sun conjugated system.
Solar time is measured with respect to the rotation of the Earth, relying on such
celestial bodies which do not rotate with it. These can either be the sun or the stars,
however they will provide different rates of rotation for the Earth—the sun will indicate
the solar time while the stars will provide us with the sidereal time.
The Earth rotation about own axis produces the day and night intervals across the
planet, while the deflection of its rotational axis determines where the sun will rise and
where it will set at a given moment. Thus, at midday (noontime) in the Holy City of
Jerusalem, it will be early morning in New York and evening in Singapore.
Simple calculation shows that every 15 longitudes introduce a one hour difference
in the wristwatch measured civil time (4 minutes per longitude), hence this civil time
has been commonly established as identical for all populations inhabiting the same area
which spans across 15 longitudes (not considering the artificial change from winter to
summer clock and vice versa, which change is introduced for purely financial reasons),
with the solar time remaining constant along each longitude.

4. The Research Question

The central question in our study is whether the sunrise, noon and sunset times mea-
sured along the same longitude are identical or different.

5. Research Proceedings

Participants in the reported study were physics students from the Israel Academic Arab
College for Education, from Makka in Saudi Arabia and from Ankara in Turkey. Com-
munication among the participants was managed through the email.
Under the research program and for one full year, we measured the times when
the following phenomena occurred in three cities located in three different countries:
Jerusalem in Israel, Ankara in Turkey and Makka in Saudi Arabia:

1. Sunrise

2. Noontime

3. Sunset

The three cities studied are located on different latitudes, spanning between 21N
(Makka, Saudi Arabia) and 40N (Ankara, Turkey), whereas their longitudes are closely
492 Massalha

spaced (closer than an interval of 7 longitudes)—see Table 1. All three cities share
the same local (civil) clock, yet they still differ in their sunrise, noon and sunset times,
which difference varies from one time of the year to another.
However, these measurements are important not only to the populations of these
different areas but also to the scientific, social and educational thought sharing among
students from three Mideastern countries, with the added value of increasing the cu-
riosity of both students and teachers with respect to exploring the nature, extent and
reasons for such difference.

Table 1. Longitudes and Latitudes in the Three Research Cities

City Latitude Difference Longitude Difference Difference
in Latitude in Longitude in Solar Time
Makka 21◦ 25’ N 0 39◦ 49’ E 0 0
Jerusalem 32◦ 42’ N ◦
11 17’ 35◦ 18’ E 4◦ 31’ 18 Minutes
Ankara 39◦ 56’ N 18◦ 31’ 32◦ 52’ E 6◦ 57’ 28 Minutes

6. Measurement Results

6.1. Sunrise Times

As shown in Figure 1, there are practically no differences in the sunrise times among
the three cities in the winter, whereas there is a significant difference in the summer.
In Ankara, the sun rises earlier than in Jerusalem (with the latitudes of these two cities
differing by 7 14’), and, in both of these cities, it rises much earlier than in Makka
(which lies farther by 18 31’ by latitude from Ankara). This is not unexpected since, in
the summer months, the sun is observed above the Cancer line (Tropic Cancer 23 27’
N).
By solar time as shown in Figure 2, the differences in sunrise times among the
three cities are smaller. By solar time, the sun rises later in Ankara than in Jerusalem or
Makka in the winter, and earlier in the summer.

6.2. Noontimes
Figure 3 shows significant differences in the noontimes measured in the three cities by
the civil time clock (at noontime, the shadow is the shortest). All year round in Makka,
noontime occurs later (by nearly 28 minutes) than in Ankara, where noontime occurs
slightly later than in Jerusalem (by a difference of nearly 15 minutes).
By solar time as shown in Figure 4, the differences in noontimes among the three
cities are smaller. By solar time, all year round, noontime in Makka occurs merely 5
minutes or so later than in Ankara, where noontime occurs much later than in Jerusalem
(by a difference of some 16 minutes).

6.3. Sunset Times

As shown in Figure 5, there are relatively small differences in the sunset (civil) times
among the three cities in the summer months (8 minutes max), which differences in-
crease as winter sets in. In winter, sunset in Ankara precedes that in Jerusalem, and,
 Sunrise, Sunset, and Noontime Phenomena 493

Figure 1. Sunrise (Civil) Times in Jerusalem, Ankara and Makka throughout 2008
with the time axis given in arbitrary units (starting onset of the civil year and ending
December 31st).

Figure 2. Noon (Solar) Times in Jerusalem, Ankara and Makka throughout 2008
with the time axis given in arbitrary units (starting onset of the civil year and ending
December 31st).

in both cities, the sun sets much earlier than in Makka (by a difference of 58 minutes).
This is not unexpected since, in the winter months, the sun is observed above the Cancer
line (Tropic Capricorn 23 27’ S).
494 Massalha

Figure 3. Noon (Civil) Times in Jerusalem, Ankara and Makka throughout 2008
with the time axis given in arbitrary units (starting onset of the civil year and ending
December 31st).

By solar time as shown in Figure 6, the differences in sunset times among the three
cities are significantly smaller both in the summer and in the winter months.

6.4. Discussion
Our findings show that the three cities—Makka in Saudi Arabia, Jerusalem in Israel and
Ankara in Turkey, located along close longitudes however on distant latitudes, differ in
their sunrise, noon and sunset times, which difference is most apparent when civil time
is used and less so in solar time (which follows the natural clock more closely).
Both the civil and the solar time clocks show a large difference in the noontimes
measured. Measurement of the daylight times in the three cities during the year of
2008 (Figure 7) has shown an asymmetry between the sunrise and sunset times, which
finding requires additional measurements to evaluate for repeatability. Such asymmetry
was also obtained in the first phase of our study (Massalha, 2008). As shown, Ankara
receives a longer daylight time as compared with Jerusalem and Makka.
 Sunrise, Sunset, and Noontime Phenomena 495

Figure 4. Noon (Solar) Times in Jerusalem, Ankara and Makka throughout 2008
with the time axis given in arbitrary units (starting onset of the civil year and ending
December 31st).
496 Massalha

Figure 5. Sunset Civil Times in Jerusalem, Ankara and Makka throughout 2008
with the time axis given in arbitrary units (starting onset of the civil year and ending
December 31st).
 Sunrise, Sunset, and Noontime Phenomena 497

Figure 6. Sunset Solar Times in Jerusalem, Ankara and Makka throughout 2008
with the time axis given in arbitrary units (starting onset of the civil year and ending
December 31st).
498 Massalha

Figure 7. Daylight Times in Jerusalem, Ankara and Makka throughout 2008 with
the time axis given in arbitrary units (starting onset of the civil year and ending
December 31st).
 Sunrise, Sunset, and Noontime Phenomena 499

7. Conclusion

In the reported study, we have shown that nature has a clock which is different from
the artificial one we are using. The natural clock is fully harmonious with the Earth
rotation about own axis and about the sun. Yet, it would have been impossible to run
measurements like the ones described herein except with intelligent use of the artificial
clock and the advanced means of communication currently available.
We have also demonstrated productive scientific cooperation, on the internet, by
students from three Mideastern countries sharing scientific, educational and cultural
thoughts. No such research could have been attempted were it not for the advanced
time measurement and information transfer technologies which enables the sharing of
sunrise, noon and sunset times data.

References

DeVorkin, D. H. 1986, Practical Astronomy—Lectures on Time, Place and Space, National Air
and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. and London
Massalha, T. 2007, Multicultural Astronomy Learning Using Sunrise and Sunset Phenomena,
EPO and a Changing World: Creating Linkages and Expanding Partnerships, a National
Conference. Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 119th Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illi-
nois
Massalha, T. & Abadi, R. 2006, Between Sunrise and Sunset: Pupils Study the Visible Move-
ment of the Sun with Integration of Creative Art, Tehuda, The Journal of the Israeli
Physics Teachers, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel. 25, 2
Massalha, T. & Abadi, R. 2008, Cultivating thinking and comprehension: A practical model,
Y-J. Lee, A-L. Tan, eds., Science education at the nexus of theory and practice. Sense
Publishers, Holland
Massalha, T. & Thimor, J. 2004, The Rising Setting Sun: An Investigation by Middle School
Students of the Relative Movements of the Sun, NSTA National Convention Atlanta,
GA
Aveni A. F. 1993, Exploring the Ancient World—Ancient Astronomers, Smithsonian Books,
Washington, D.C.
Comins N. F. & Kaufmann III W. J. 2008, Discovering the Universe, 8th Ed., W. H. Freeman
and Company, N.Y.
Richards E. G. 1999, Mapping Time—The Calendars and its History, Ch. 3, Oxford University
Press

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