Located far to the east and close to the International Date Line, New Zealand is one of the first countries where the sun rises in the morning. Even further east, there are only a few countries left in Oceania. Because New Zealand is in the southern hemisphere, the seasons reverse.
Chatham Island, New Zealand also sees the sunrise first.
Because of the difference in latitudes, the sun rises earlier in Chatham Island than in Kiritimati between the period of November 14 and January 30. This means that New Zealand is the country where the sun rises first in the world on New Year's Day.
The first place in the world to see the sun is the beautiful Tairawhiti Gisborne area in New Zealand. It's a completely surreal feeling to experience that first birdsong and serene rays – as one of the first people to do so on the whole planet.
Samoa is one of the first countries in the world to see the sun rise and American Samoa is the last country to see the sun rise. The map shows that they are only about 100 km apart.
Japan is called the "land of the rising sun" because from China it appears that the sun rises from the direction of Japan. The Japanese people call their country "Nippon" or "Nihon," which literally translated means "source of the sun." It is loosely translated into English as "land of the rising sun."
While Japan considers the rising sun flag part of its history, some in Korea, China, the Philippines, and other Asian countries say the flag is associated with Japan's wartime atrocities, and is comparable to the Nazi swastika.
Norway. Norway, situated in the Arctic Circle, is called the Land of the Midnight Sun, where from May to late July, the sun actually never sets. This means that for around a period of 76 days, the sun never goes down.
Chimborazo volcano in the Andes of Ecuador. This volcano is the farthest from the center of the earth and its high is 6310 m.
The most common answer is “the summit of Chimborazo volcano in Ecuador”. This volcano is the point on Earth's surface that is furthest from the center of Earth, and that is then equated to being the closest to the Sun.
In Svalbard, Norway, the northernmost inhabited region of Europe, there is no sunset from approximately 19 April to 23 August. The extreme sites are the poles, where the Sun can be continuously visible for half the year. The North Pole has midnight sun for 6 months, from late March to late September.
Read any Byron Bay bucket list and you'll no doubt find a sunrise walk to the Cape Byron Lighthouse, and for good reason. Located on the most easterly point of mainland Australia, this early morning attraction isn't just the finish line to an epic coastal walk, it's the first place the sun rises in the whole country.
Five suns are seen shining in the sky in N. China's Inner Mongolia." The scientific explanation of the phenomenon is cited as an elaborate optical illusion that requires temperatures of -20 degrees. According to Daily Mail, a 'sundog' or 'phantom sun' occurs due to small pockets of ice suspended in the air.
Officially the first city in New Zealand to see the sun, Gisborne and Mount Hikurangi(opens in new window) is recognised as the first point on the New Zealand mainland to greet the morning sun. Watch the sun rise before anyone else in New Zealand.
Country Profile: New Zealand.
Located in the Southern hemisphere, New Zealand is one of the easternmost islands in the world. Even if Japan is called the Land of the Rising Sun, New Zealand is actually the second place where you can observe the first glimpse of the sunrise, next to Suva in Fiji.
New Zealanders are especially susceptible to sunburn. This is due to two factors of our environment: The ozone layer over New Zealand is thinner.
The Earth has an elliptical orbit and passes closest to the Sun during December and January. This means that the sun is closer to New Zealand in our summertime than it is to northern hemisphere countries in their summertime.
The elliptical orbit of the Earth places the Southern Hemisphere closer to the sun during its summer months than the Northern Hemisphere during its summer. This means that the summer sun in Australia is 7 to 10 percent stronger than similar latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere.
“The least sunny city in the world is in Norway and spends 6 months a year in the dark..”
The sun's rays are strongest at the equator where the sun is most directly overhead and where UV rays must travel the shortest distance through the atmosphere.
The hottest part of our Sun is its core, where nuclear fusion reactions create temperatures up to 15 million degrees Celsius (ºC) or 27 million degrees Fahrenheit (ºF), according to NASA.
The strength of an object's gravitational pull is proportional to how much mass it has. Because the sun is losing mass, its pull on Earth is weakening, leading our planet to drift away from our star by about 2.36 inches (6 centimeters) per year, DiGiorgio said.
Norway is famous across the world for its beauty and it is one of the richest countries in the world. Do you know that there is a place in the world where the sun sets at 12:43 in the night and rises again after only 40 minutes? This stunning view is witnessed at Hammerfest town in Northern Norway.
Svalbard is the place in Norway where the midnight sun occurs for the longest period. Here, the sun doesn't set between 20 April and 22 August. Cross the Arctic Circle and experience Norway's best-kept secret - without the hassle of driving on Lofoten's narrow roads yourself.
Interestingly, this myth was perpetrated by our science books for many years. Only the furthest north and south points have equal parts daylight and darkness throughout the year, and Alaska isn't north enough to experience six months of either extreme.