99% of humans are about to experience sunlight at the same time
At one precise moment this weekend, nearly all of the 8 billion people on Earth will be able to see sunlight in the sky, the counterpart to the "moment of darkness" that unfolds in December.
A man runs up a hill on a small road in Frankfurt, Germany as the sun rises on Friday, June 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
It's time to break out the sunglasses as humanity is about to have its brightest moment of 2023.
At 7:15 a.m. EDT on Saturday, July 8, around 99% of the Earth's population will see sunlight in the sky — as long as it isn't cloudy. This equates to approximately 7.9 billion people across North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa.
Meanwhile, the remainder of people around the world will experience nighttime, including people in Australia, New Zealand and islands across the Pacific Ocean, such as Hawaii and Fiji.
There is a catch to this viral claim. For some areas, such as the West Coast of the United States, the sunlight will come in the form of twilight.
During twilight, it appears dark at ground level, but traces of sunlight can still be seen in the sky.
It is important not to look directly at the sun when it is in the sky as it can cause serious, and sometimes permanent, eye damage. The only way to safely observe the sun is with the use of a solar filter or a pair of eclipse glasses.
Only one day a year?
Saturday morning is being touted as the moment when nearly every human will experience some type of daylight simultaneously. However, this won't be the only time it happens in 2023.
According to timeanddate.com, there is a 60-day window when around 99% of the global population experiences daylight at the same time. The period starts on May 18 and runs through July 17, with the exact moment of brightness varying by a few minutes each day.
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The sunshine statistic has a darker counterpart that unfolds in the final weeks of the year.
Similar to the summertime sunshine phenomenon, there is a period of a few weeks centered around the December solstice when about the same amount of people worldwide experience darkness, with the number fluctuating slightly each day through the end of December and into the start of January.
On Dec. 6, roughly 86% of the global population will experience darkness simultaneously with the sun appearing below the horizon across all of Africa, Europe and Asia. For people across the United States, the moment of darkness happens during the afternoon.
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