Sunset In The Wrong Place (Seattle, Bellevue: apartment complex, live in, move)

[usmcman]

Hi Everyone,

I did a search but couldn't find anything about this so my apologies if it has already been discussed...

My wife and I recently moved to the area from the east coast - we love your beautiful state and are only sorry we didn't make the move earlier. But one thing has me puzzled - we live in an apartment complex at the top of a large hill on the eastern side of Bellevue near 140th Street. A few nights ago while walking the dog at 11PM, I noticed what appeared to be a really nice sunset only it was directly to the north. At first I thought I just had my directions twisted but I triple checked it with a compass, and Google Earth as well as finding the North Star. Earlier this evening my wife asked "Want to see a beautiful sunset?" Sure, so she leads me out to the balcony which faces directly north. I tell her it is indeed beautiful but it's in the wrong spot. Like all wives who think their husbands are idiots, she immediately grabs her iPhone, turns on the compass app and...we really are facing at 359 degrees.

I even walk her down to the parking lot and when we look to the southeast, there is the real sunset. Can anyone tell me what is causing the faux "sunset" to the north? Thanks in advance for filling us in.

[MafHoney]

Could it possibly be the wildfires that are going on up near Chelan? That would be my only guess.

[eskercurve]

Where on the east coast did you live?

If you lived further south, say the Carolinas or Florida, you would notice that our sun travels much more diagonally when it sets. What you are seeing is the Earth's curvature bending light in a different manner and yourself being in a different frame of reference.

Just How Far North Is The Sun Setting? | F.A.Q. | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News | KOMO News

That gives a simple answer.

Here is a simple example which takes the math and boils it down to a simple experiment you can do at home.

stonehengederivation

The idea here is that you are located much further north than the Tropic of Cancer, which means that the sun will actually look to curve as it sets, and by the time it's set fully, you can still see light coming from around the poles. An extreme example would be in Alaska, or near the poles, the sun never sets fully in the summer and almost never rises.

Enjoy these long summer days while it lasts. It's for this exact reason that our winter days seem so short and nights so long, even when it's on a rare clear day in winter.

[Hemlock140]

Last night there was an amazing sunset. Again, it was to the northwest.

[usmcman]

[quote=eskercurve;35638996]Where on the east coast did you live?

If you lived further south, say the Carolinas or Florida, you would notice that our sun travels much more diagonally when it sets. What you are seeing is the Earth's curvature bending light in a different manner and yourself being in a different frame of reference. [quote]

Thanks for that explanation. I thought it might be something like that - I just couldn't understand the mechanics of it. We're from the New York metropolitan area, putting us about four hundred miles north of our previous latitude. I'm still going to get the two paper plates - I'm fascinated by stuff like that.

Thanks again,

Patrick Cotter

[cjg5]

It all has to do with latitude, the tilt of the Earth on its axis, and the time of year. As somebody else already mentioned, enjoy these long summer days while they are here. In the winter, it will be dark before 5pm.