Does the sun rise at 35K or is it always risen?

Question

Does the sun rise at 35K or is it always risen?

Answer 1

The sun rises; it is not always risen.  

What's the distance to the horizon at 35,000'?  Can be more than 187 nautical miles; (more than 187 arcminutes).  How fast is the terminator moving?  About 15 arcminutes of longitude per minute.  The sunrise at altitude could be more than 12 minutes later than sunrise at the surface.

Answer 2

Of course the sun rises at 35K.

Answer 3

so to complete oximan... 's answer, the sun does rise/and set at 35K

Answer 4

Fly east and watch the horizon.  The sun will rise from the horizon even if you're at 35,000 feet.

Answer 5

Hardly any difference at all.  Seven miles up is only 2/10 percent of the Earth's radius.

Answer 6

Even the Space Shuttle experiences Sunrise and Sunset when in orbit.  (16 times in a 24 hour period.  That was a recent initial issue for an Astronaut from Malaysia during the 'fasting' month)

What I find interesting is, there is a point distant from the earth that you will be in continual daylight.  However as your distance from the sun increases you will approach complete darkness and the sun will just be another star.

Answer 7

Just to correct an earlier input, the sun does rise at 35,000 feet, but it rises earlier, not later, than it would at the same point on the earth at sea level.  That is because the horizon over which the sun first appears is father away at 35,000 feet than it is at the surface.  Watch the sun rise in the mountains and you will see the same thing - the mountain top will be lit by the sun's rays first. The sun sets later at altitude also.

Answer 8

Fly fast enough westbound and it sure wont set. Or rise, whatever. It sit's smack in the middle  of my windshield on a late afternoon for what seems like forever on a leg from NY to Oakland. And were only doing about 500 MPH. At least it's out of my face fast eastbound on the trip out.

Answer 9

It would, unless you were near the North pole in summer or the South pole in the winter, then it wouldn't.