The nation’s outlying Orchid Island (蘭嶼) will be the first location in the country to welcome the sun on New Year’s Day, with the first glimpse of the rising sun expected at 6:33am, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday.
For those hoping to greet the first sunrise on the main island of Taiwan, the CWB said the top options would be major scenic spots in southern Taiwan.
EARLIEST SUNRISE
According to the bureau, Ken-ding (墾丁) in Pingtung County and Sansiantai (三仙台) along the southeastern coast in Taitung County will both see the sunrise at 6:35am, the earliest anywhere on the island.
In northern Taiwan, the best location will be Sandiaojiao (三貂角) in Taipei County, where the sunrise is expected to take place at 6:37am.
The bureau’s astronomic -observatory explained that because the incident angle of the sun (the angle at which it strikes the Earth’s surface) is steep in the southern hemisphere in December, the further south people go, the earlier they will see the sunrise.
LAST SUNSET
“Daytime in southern Taiwan will be slightly longer than in northern areas, which explains why the sunrise comes earlier and the sun sets later there,” said an associate technical specialist with the observatory surnamed Ho (侯).
As a result, people who want to wave farewell to the last sunset of the year should also head south, where they can see it at 17:25pm in Cigu (七股) in Tainan County and Cijin (旗津) in Kaohsiung City, according to the CWB report.
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