On The Go: Day 2
Today started in North Carolina at around 2:30 AM.
We needed to be up at 3:00 AM anyway to be at the airport by 4:00 so we could board by 5:25 so we could take off by 6:00…
And we’re a little excited about Japan which will be later today, but in Japan time it’s not until Saturday afternoon.
Also, I’m so used to flying SouthWest airlines, which isn’t bad, but it’s unique in that it’s general seating and most other airlines, like Jet Blue, is assigned.
What’s interesting is, they still board in groups rather then; “yawl just come on in and find yer seat!”
From New York…
Wow…A 787 is a big aircraft!
And…As silly as it sounds, it’s so kewl sitting in the last row AND having a window seat.
And, where most jets have the little blinds you pull down over the windows, these have a button that dims the window all the way until it’s black.
Yes, the nerd factor is high today.
13 hours and change and we’ll fly over Canada, up towards the north pole, then Alaska, eastern Russia and then on to Japan.
Whoa!
In flight: T + 5 hrs. 36 min.
Too tired (and cramped in the seat) to sleep. So, we’re watching movies. Me watching the new ‘Jurassic World’ movie and Amelia watching ‘Into the spider verse’ # 2.
We had a discussion earlier in the day about ‘does it get dark during the flight?’.
My theory was that it can’t get dark because:
- We leave New York at 10:00 AM Friday and arrive in Japan around 2:00 PM Saturday afternoon.
- We are traveling west and the sun sets in the west.
- It’s a 13 hour flight with Japan being 16 hours ahead of New York.
- This means when we left New York at 10:00 AM Friday it was probably around 2:00 AM on Saturday in Japan and by the time we get there it’ll be dark in New York and afternoon Saturday in Japan.
- So… it’s light all the way.
Yet I believe the earth rotates faster than the 500 plus miles an hour we’re flying.
So…. I don’t know!
Then, just a few moments ago I looked out my window and I could see the sun. It was not rising or setting on the horizon but was just above it and, sort of following the horizon.
So…My theory (continued):
We are far enough north and high enough (36,000 ft.), that we can see it out my window and towards the rear of the plane.
As time passed, it began to fit more in the middle of the window. And, I’ll bet in a couple more hours it will be the same distance above the horizon but a little ahead out my window.
We are “following” the sun across the globe, but we’re not under it but north of it. And, it’s faster then us, so it will rise and shine above Japan long before we arrive early Saturday afternoon.
Then, as we start to head south again across the coast of Russia, we will once again be under it in a new day.
I told you the ‘nerd’ factor was high today.
Very kewl!
Later that same day…
Ok…I know this is not scientrific proof or anything, but as I expected: the sun is still just above the horizon, except it has now ‘passed’ us.
As further support of my hypothesis, at 6:36 PM eastern time, it’s officially dark in New York, and in Japan, it’s around 8:30 in the morning, probably about 2 or so hours after sunrise.
For us, the sun has yet to disappear.
Hazza…
Finally…
It’s a bit if an odd day in this case because we started on a Friday and ended on a Saturday.
So is this “Day 2”…
Or “Day 2 Ultra”…. But we’ll skip 3.
We’ll see how it goes.
Anyway… hello Japan!
