Latest news with #InternationalDateLine
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Yahoo
United passengers endured a double diversion and a 28-hour journey over the Pacific
United Airlines Flight 870 took 28 hours to reach San Francisco. After leaving Sydney, it diverted to Samoa, then stopped again in Hawaii. Airlines sometimes choose to stop again after a diversion, as it may be easier to find replacement staff. United Airlines passengers spent 28 hours traveling across the Pacific Ocean as their flight made two unscheduled landings. Flight 870, from Sydney to San Francisco, typically takes around 13 hours. The Boeing 777 departed Australia on Sunday at around 11:30 a.m. local time, an hour later than scheduled, according to data from Flightradar24. If passengers were irritated by the delayed takeoff, they had a lot more awaiting them. Four-and-a-half hours into the journey, the plane turned southeast toward the Pacific island nation of Samoa, per Flightradar24. It landed in the capital, Apia, two hours later. Travel news site Paddle Your Own Kanoo reported that this diversion was due to a medical emergency. United Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider outside US working hours. The plane spent more than three hours on the ground in Samoa before taking off again, but it only traveled as far as Hawaii. The six-hour flight to Honolulu also saw passengers cross the International Date Line. So when it landed in the state capital around 7:30 a.m. local time on Sunday, this was technically earlier than when the passengers left Australia. However, they then had to wait another seven hours before they could depart again for the final leg of their journey to San Francisco. Flight 870 ultimately concluded there at around 10:30 p.m. PT, some 15 hours later than expected. It looks like United Airlines purposely chose to stop for a second time as the emergency meant the crew would have exceeded their maximum working hours. As the carrier doesn't typically fly to Samoa, it wouldn't have been able to find a new flight crew there without disrupting other journeys. By contrast, United serves several cities from Honolulu. This tactic for minimising disruption is not uncommon. Last month, a British Airways flight from the Bahamas to London also made two stops after a medical emergency. It first diverted to Canada's remote Gander International Airport, before stopping again in Iceland. British Airways arranged for the second stop because it was easier to send a replacement crew there than to Canada. Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
14-05-2025
- Business Insider
United passengers endured a double diversion and a 28-hour journey over the Pacific
United Airlines passengers spent 28 hours traveling across the Pacific Ocean as their flight made two unscheduled landings. Flight 870, from Sydney to San Francisco, typically takes around 13 hours. The Boeing 777 departed Australia on Sunday at around 11:30 a.m. local time, an hour later than scheduled, according to data from Flightradar24. If passengers were irritated by the delayed takeoff, they had a lot more awaiting them. Four-and-a-half hours into the journey, the plane turned southeast toward the Pacific island nation of Samoa, per Flightradar24. It landed in the capital, Apia, two hours later. Travel news site Paddle Your Own Kanoo reported that this diversion was due to a medical emergency. United Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider outside US working hours. The plane spent more than three hours on the ground in Samoa before taking off again, but it only traveled as far as Hawaii. The six-hour flight to Honolulu also saw passengers cross the International Date Line. So when it landed in the state capital around 7:30 a.m. local time on Sunday, this was technically earlier than when the passengers left Australia. However, they then had to wait another seven hours before they could depart again for the final leg of their journey to San Francisco. Flight 870 ultimately concluded there at around 10:30 p.m. PT, some 15 hours later than expected. It looks like United Airlines purposely chose to stop for a second time as the emergency meant the crew would have exceeded their maximum working hours. As the carrier doesn't typically fly to Samoa, it wouldn't have been able to find a new flight crew there without disrupting other journeys. By contrast, United serves several cities from Honolulu. This tactic for minimising disruption is not uncommon. Last month, a British Airways flight from the Bahamas to London also made two stops after a medical emergency. It first diverted to Canada's remote Gander International Airport, before stopping again in Iceland. British Airways arranged for the second stop because it was easier to send a replacement crew there than to Canada.
Time of India
03-05-2025
- Time of India
Time travel on foot: These islands just 4km apart let you walk into yesterday, but there is a catch
Imagine standing on a snow-covered rock in the middle of the ocean, staring at a neighboring island just four kilometers away. It looks close enough to swim to - or walk across in winter when the sea freezes over. This isn't a sci-fi film set or a magician's illusion. Welcome to the Diomede Islands - two rocky outcrops perched between Alaska and Siberia that defy the concept of time as we know it. #Pahalgam Terrorist Attack India strikes hard! New Delhi bans all imports from Pakistan How Pakistan is preparing for the worst as India weighs response If India attacks Pakistan, China & B'desh should seize 7 NE states, says Yunus' aide Little Diomede belongs to the United States , and Big Diomede belongs to Russia. These islands, visible to one another on a clear day, are the only place on Earth where, quite literally, today meets tomorrow — or yesterday, depending on your direction. Walk Across Ice… and Into the Past Here's the mind-boggling part: If you were to begin walking from Little Diomede at 9 a.m. on a Friday in winter — when a natural ice bridge sometimes forms — you could reach Big Diomede by 10 a.m. after a short trek. But your watch wouldn't show 10 a.m. Friday. It would flip back almost an entire day. You'd arrive in Russia on Thursday. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Wife won't let go of dog, husband finds out why and calls police - watch! Happy in Shape Undo This incredible temporal twist is thanks to the International Date Line , an invisible boundary that runs directly between the two islands. Though only 3.8 kilometers apart, the two islands operate on separate calendars, with Big Diomede being up to 21 hours ahead of its American neighbor. The Yesterday-Tomorrow Paradox Locals affectionately call Little Diomede 'Yesterday Island' and Big Diomede 'Tomorrow Island.' It's an eerie duality: a pair of lands that coexist in completely different time zones despite their geographic intimacy. The difference is not exactly 24 hours due to local time adjustments — it's closer to 21 hours (or 20 in summer) — but that doesn't make the phenomenon any less remarkable. You Might Also Like: Time Travel Mystery: Man claims to be from 1932, shows photos from 2050 as 'proof'; experts left stunned For those who love the poetic and the peculiar, it's a real-life moment where stepping across the ice means stepping into the past. Or future. — theepicmap (@theepicmap) A Forbidden Crossing with Geopolitical Echoes Though you could theoretically make the icy walk from one nation to the other in winter, doing so is strictly illegal. The border between Big and Little Diomede is an international one, dividing Russia and the United States — two global powers with a long and complex history. No visa, no checkpoint, no diplomatic clearance — just a frozen bridge that tempts the adventurous and curious. Big Diomede is heavily guarded and has no civilian population, serving as a Russian border outpost. Little Diomede, in contrast, is home to a small Inupiat community in the village of Diomede. They are the sentinels of this incredible anomaly — the keepers of the world's most mysterious time zone trick. Though you could theoretically make the icy walk from one nation to the other in winter, doing so is strictly illegal. A Legacy Carved in Ice and History Named by Danish-Russian explorer Vitus Bering on August 16, 1728 — the feast day of Saint Diomedes — the islands have captivated historians, scientists, and storytellers for centuries. They've been eyed as potential waypoints for a future Bering Strait bridge or tunnel that might someday connect Eurasia and North America. You Might Also Like: Study links the genius of Ratan Tata, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg to this quirky trait: Do you share this success secret? But for now, they remain icy time capsules — where time folds in on itself, where global divides are frozen into the sea, and where, if you dare, you could walk from Friday back into Thursday before lunch.
Forbes
30-03-2025
- Science
- Forbes
Why Two Islands Will See A Total Solar Eclipse On Different Days
The Diomede Islands in the Bering Strait are separated by the International Date Line with Big ... More Diomede Island (Russia) 21 hours ahead of Little Diomede (United States). (Photo by Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data 2018/) When is the next eclipse in the U.S.? On March 30, 2033 — exactly eight years from today — a total solar eclipse will occur in Alaska and the Bering Strait. It will bring a dark totality for up to two minutes and 37 seconds, with the maximum close to Barrow/Utqiagvikill in Alaska. However, two islands close to each other in the Bering Strait will experience a totality theoretically 21 hours apart. How can that be? Here's everything you need to know about the next total solar eclipse in the U.S. — the 'Great Bering Strait''eclipse. New supermoons cause all total solar eclipses, and this one is no different. At 7:10 UTC, when a new moon is just 11 hours after swinging closest to Earth — so appearing big enough to block the sun in the sky — its dark umbral shadow will forge a path of totality across Provideniya, Anadyr and Uelen in far eastern Russia and Nome, Utqiaġvik (Barrow) and Kotzebue in Alaska in mid-morning. Fairbanks, Anchorage and Juneau in Alaska will see a big partial solar eclipse. This is one of the more remote eclipses — just 67,600 will see totality, according to Timeanddate. A partial solar eclipse will be seen in 45 U.S. states. Big Diomede and Little Diomede — three miles apart in the Bering Strait between Alaska and the U.S. and Siberia in Russia — are known as Tomorrow Island and Yesterday Island, respectively. They're split by the International Date Line, putting Big Diomede in Russia (Tomorrow Island) and Little Diomede in the U.S. (Yesterday Island). Big Diomede is almost one day ahead of Little Diomede. This total solar eclipse— which brings a brief darkness in the day — occurs during peak viewing season for the aurora borealis, offering a potential double celestial event. A lack of light pollution in Alaska and the fact that auroras are twice as likely close to the March equinox make it a possibility. The four main places in Alaska where eclipse chasers will gather are likely to be: Totality: 09:59 a.m. (Eclipse 11 degrees above the horizon, 2 minutes 35 seconds) The most northerly settlement in the U.S. at 71.2° N at the extreme northern edge of Alaska is close to the point of maximum eclipse. Totality: 10:00 a.m. (Eclipse 13.9 degrees above the horizon, 1 minute 36 seconds) The eclipse will occur highest in the sky here, so will be easier to see. It's close to Deadhorse at the end of Alaska's famous Dalton Highway. Totality: 09:50 a.m. (Eclipse 9.3 degrees above the horizon, 2 minutes 31 seconds) This Inupiat town at 66 degrees north is on the Baldwin Peninsula in Kotzebue Sound, 26 miles above the Arctic Circle. Totality: 09:46 a.m. (Eclipse 8.1 degrees above the horizon, 2 minutes 28 seconds) Reachable only by plane, Nome at 64 degrees north, the end of the annual long-distance Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race each March. Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Hurricane Hunters increasingly missing mission requirements in powerful storm systems
WASHINGTON – A newly released government report states that both NOAA and the U.S. Air Force are struggling to meet the increasing demand for reconnaissance missions into tropical cyclones and winter storms. The Government Accountability Office highlighted issues such as aging aircraft, staffing shortages and maintenance delays, which have hindered the ability to fulfill 100% of requested missions. Both agencies have dedicated crews and aircraft, commonly known as Hurricane Hunters, that fly both around and through storm systems. The Air Force's fleet consists of 10 WC-130J Hercules aircraft, which entered service in the 1990s, while NOAA's aircraft are reported to be even older. The report reveals that missed missions are raising concerns about the agencies' capacities to fulfill their growing responsibilities. Recent events where sampling was missed include an atmospheric river event in March, which produced heavy snow and severe storms in California, as well as Hurricane Idalia in 2023, among others. 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season Guide: Here's What To Know About The Tropics This Year The GAO estimated that around 30% of mission requirements were not met during winter storms, while tropical weather events fared better, with a failure rate of just under 9%. Officials argue that these numbers are too high and could ultimately impact forecasting and preparedness operations. "When missions are missed, the accuracy of forecasts is degraded, and evacuation decisions and other storm preparations may be negatively impacted," report authors stated. Aircraft survey weather features between 55 degrees west longitude in the Atlantic and the International Date Line in the Pacific, but the demand for coverage of both winter storms and cyclones in this region has significantly increased since 2014. A mission is considered to have missed its requirements if a plane does not fly or if objectives are not met due to issues such as mechanical failures or crew availability. Of most concern to the GAO was its finding that neither NOAA nor the military has an adequate system to track these issues, making it difficult to understand the true underlying causes of missed flights. The office made more than half a dozen recommendations for improvements in operations, which include: Sufficiently track missed mission requirements Define how much of a workforce is needed Increase communication for needed resources "In their written comments, NOAA and the Department of Defense agreed with our recommendations and described actions they plan to take to address them. These actions include working together to develop a process to track the reasons for missed mission requirements and to establish senior-level communications and information-sharing protocols for their Hurricane Hunter programs. NOAA stated that it believes its planning process for acquiring new Hurricane Hunter aircraft addressed our recommendation to assess its Hurricane Hunter workforce," the report stated. Noaa Orders Next Generation Of Hurricane Hunter Aircraft NOAA previously announced that the agency had ordered two advanced hurricane hunter aircraft that were expected to enter service by 2030 and replace an aging fleet, but the GAO found potential issues with this plan as well. "…NOAA and Air Force senior leaders do not have a mechanism to regularly communicate with each other about their plans and resources. This has hampered the agencies' ability to ensure that their decisions about investments in the Hurricane Hunters are aligned," the reported stated. Observational planes are considered a vital part of the weather enterprise, helping to reduce forecast errors and determine a cyclone's true intensity. Data collected by these aerial missions aids in evacuation efforts and storm preparations, which can be costly. Officials have previously estimated that the cost of evacuating residents along just one mile of coastline is around $1 article source: Hurricane Hunters increasingly missing mission requirements in powerful storm systems
