The night will reign over the skies of the three most populous continents: Asia, Africa, and Europe, at the moment when heaven and earth converge on December 7 (Vietnam time). An estimated 86% of the world’s population will experience a sky as dark as “ink”…
According to EarthSky, based on algorithms and data from the Earth Science Information Center at Columbia University (USA), the moment when the sky becomes “dark as ink” will occur at 19:56 UTC on December 6 (2:56 AM on December 7, Vietnam time).
At this time, the night will dominate the skies of the three most populous continents: Asia, Africa, and Europe, which together account for approximately 85.92% of the global population, or over 6.6 billion people.
Normally, at this time, only about 60% of the population experiences darkness.
By the strictest definition of nighttime, the sun is at least 18° below the horizon at this point.
According to algorithms from the EarthSky astronomy team, on December 27, 2022, at 19:39 UTC (2:39 AM on December 28, Vietnam time), the darkness will reach its highest point, covering approximately 86.11% of the world’s population.
At 21:44 UTC on December 21, 2022 (4:44 AM on December 22, Vietnam time), most of the Earth will be in twilight, affecting 88.14% of the global population.
It is no surprise that all these dates fall within the northern winter. The majority of people live north of the equator, and December is the month when sunlight is least prevalent in the Northern Hemisphere.
But why is the number of people on Earth in complete darkness highest on these days?
It all depends on the weather patterns of the affected regions, as the time of “ink-dark” night coincides with the world’s most densely populated areas. These weather patterns change very little from day to day. During the European summer, it is still light out until 9 PM. However, as winter approaches, night falls early, around 7 PM.
Thus, there is a moment when three continents fall into the dark of night; this is when night has just fallen in Europe, but the first rays of dawn have yet to reach the Far East of Asia. This rare moment is a special weather phenomenon when heaven and earth loosely converge.
If the weather permits, dress warmly and step outside to enjoy the spectacular Geminids meteor shower. The peak will occur on December 14 and 15, with about 150 meteors per hour.
A few days later, on December 22 and 23, the Ursids meteor shower will reach its maximum, providing us with about 10 meteors per hour.
