The closer to the equator, the faster the day turns into night - a similar observation is noted by many people. In temperate climatic zones, twilight can last quite a while, while at the equator a similar period takes only a few minutes.
The daylight disappears very quickly beyond the horizon, a dark night sets in, which then quickly changes to day. Such an observation is completely objective, it dusk really quicker at the equator than in the temperate, polar regions. There is a quite natural explanation for this fact.
Trajectories of the Sun
The features of the position of the Earth relative to the Sun are such that in areas that are close to the poles, they are not observed high above the horizon, the movement occurs along a smooth trajectory. The smoothness of the angle is maintained at sunset, which is why the Sun needs a lot of time to ensure nightfall.
Interesting fact: Astronomers believe that the darkness of the night is observed from the moment the star goes 18 degrees below the horizon.
Closer to the equator, the trajectory of movement becomes steeper, sharper. The sunset of the star at sunset takes place at a steep angle of almost 90 degrees, which allows it to quickly disappear beyond the horizon. Therefore, at the equator there is simply no long twilight, regardless of the time of year. Impressed by the rapid change of day and night, tourists from the temperate zone can say that the daylight leaves the horizon in a couple of minutes, but such a statement will not be true.
The practice of observing sunsets at the equator
If you observe the change of day in the equatorial belt, you can primarily note the high transparency of the air in a situation when the weather is good. As a rule, the Sun shines very bright literally until the moment when the disk touches the horizon - despite the fact that in the temperate zone its light begins to fade in advance. The star quickly hides behind the horizon, after which it can darken in some 10-20 minutes - and in half an hour there will already be a deep night. However, it dawns at the equator just as swiftly, the entire process from the transition from complete darkness to saturated light takes all the same half an hour.
Local animals, plants are perfectly adapted to such a quick awakening, nature comes to life from the night silence and darkness almost instantly - just like it calms down in the evening. The same processes in the temperate zone can take up to three times as much time for the equinox. Reducing the angle increases the distance that the luminary needs to go before it disappears beyond the horizon, this significantly increases the time of twilight, stretches them.
Interesting fact: At the poles, twilight stretches to a two-week period. This happens twice a year, seeing off the polar summer, and meeting him after the winter.
Why does the difference in angles arise, and how else does it affect the features of the planet?
Angles in different climatic zones vary for the simple reason that our planet has a round shape and its axis is tilted. Because of this, the observant traveler may note that in the south, where he went on vacation from the temperate zone, the night comes faster. The closer to the pole, the longer the day in summer - but in winter it becomes significantly shorter.At the equator, annual changes in the duration of periods in days are practically not observed. Therefore, in summer, the southern day will be really shorter than the northern, in winter, the northern night will be longer than the southern.
Thus, the closer to the equator, the faster the star leaves the horizon, making twilight very short, and this is due to the fact that at the equator the sun goes beyond the horizon almost vertically, while the angle changes as the poles approach. In temperate latitudes, circumpolar trajectories, twilight stretches for hours, at the equator, they take no more than half an hour all year round.
The right angle implies the minimum path of the luminary along the horizon during the period when it tends to the horizon or rises from it, while with decreasing angle the path becomes longer, it takes a long time to go through it. The farther from the equator, the longer twilight becomes, stretching from half an hour to two weeks at the poles - this is a feature of our planet, dictated by its shape and tilt of the axis.
