Second 2016 Lahaina Noon Experience Begins Monday, July 11

Summary: The second 2016 Lahaina Noon experience, in which the sun is directly overhead at solar noon, begins Monday, July 11, at 12:42 p.m. in Lihue, Kauai.

Lahaina Noon, with shadowless alleys in Honolulu, July 16, 2011: billsoPHOTO, CC BY SA 2.0, via Flickr

The second 2016 Lahaina Noon experience, in which the sun reaches its zenith, directly overhead, at solar noon, begins Monday, July 11, at 12:42 p.m. Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time (HAST) (10:42 Coordinated Universal Time), at Lihue, Kauai.

In the United States, Lahaina Noon only happens in Hawaii. The solar phenomenon of a truly directly overhead sun, with sunlight angled perpendicularly with the Earth’s surface, at solar noon is restricted to the tropics.

The Hawaiian Islands lie within the Northern and Southern Hemispheres’ tropical band. At 23.4371 degrees north of the equator, the Tropic of Cancer marks the tropics’ northern extent. At 23.4371 degrees south of the equator, the Tropic of Capricorn defines the tropics’ southern extent. Hawaii’s eight major, windward islands are located south of the Tropic of Cancer.

The sun’s overhead placement happens twice in Hawaii. The first Lahaina Noon takes place in May. The second Lahaina Noon occurs in July.

Tropical latitude determines times and dates of the directly overhead placement of the sun. The most northerly of the eight windward islands greet July’s Lahaina Noon earlier than the most southerly windwards. The second 2016 Lahaina Noon experience spans Monday, July 11, to Thursday, July 28.

The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, located in Honolulu, Oahu, as Hawaii’s largest museum, provides times for July 2016’s Lahaina Noon for 11 locations. After July’s first Lahaina Noon at Lihue, Kauai, the next timed occurrences happen Friday, July 15. Kaneohe on Oahu’s northeastern shore and Honolulu on Oahu’s southeastern shore simultaneously experience Lahaina Noon at 12:37 p.m. HAST (10:37 UTC).

On Saturday, July 16, Lahaina Noon happens at Kaunakakai at 12:34 p.m. HAST (10:34 UTC). Kaunakakai is sited on the south shore of Molokai, Oahu’s southeastern neighbor.

On Monday, July 18, two Hawaiian islands experience Lahaina Noon within the space of four minutes. Lahaina Noon reaches Maui first and then Lanai.

Hana greets Lahaina Noon at 12:30 p.m. HAST (10:30 UTC), July 18. Hana is located on Maui’s eastern coast.

Two minutes later, at 12:32 p.m. HAST (10:32 UTC), Kahului welcomes the overhead sun. Kahului’s location is on the northern side of West Maui’s isthmus.

At 12:33 p.m. HAST (10:33 UTC), Lahaina Noon happens in Lahaina. The historic royal city and global whaling center of Lahaina is sited in West Maui.

One minute later, at 12:34 p.m. HAST (10:34 UTC), Lanai City claims July 2016’s Lahaina Noon. Lanai City is located in central Lanai. Lanai lies south of Molokai and directly west of Maui.

On Sunday, July 24, Lahaina Noon reaches the Island of Hawaii, known as the Big Island. Hilo on the shore observes the zenith sun at 12:27 p.m. HAST (10:27 UTC). Kailua-Kona on the shore clocks the overhead sun at 12:30 p.m. HAST (10:30 UTC).

The last timed occurrence of the second 2016 Lahaina Noon experience happens Thursday, July 28, at 12:28 p.m. HAST (10:28 UTC).

The first sweep of Lahaina Noon for 2016 took place in May. Hawaii’s eight major southeastern islands, known as windward islands, successively greeted the month’s Lahaina Noons from Sunday, May 15, to Monday, May 30.

The description of the overhead sun at solar noon in Hawaii’s windward islands dates back to a contest sponsored by the Bishop Museum in 1990. Lahaina comes from Lā haina, Hawaiian for “cruel sun.”

The takeaway for July 11 as 2016’s second Lahaina Noon experience is that the occurrence of the exclusively tropical solar phenomenon across the eight main, windward Hawaiian Islands emphasizes another unique asset held by the United States’ paradisical 50th state.

Hawaii's eight major, windward islands experience Lahaina Noon; image captured from International Space Station, Jan. 18, 2014: NASA Earth Observatory, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Lahaina Noon, with shadowless alleys in Honolulu, July 16, 2011: billsoPHOTO, CC BY SA 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/billsophoto/5944623248/

Hawaii's eight major, windward islands experience Lahaina Noon; image captured from International Space Station, Jan. 18, 2014: NASA Earth Observatory, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ISS-38_Hawaiian_Island_chain.jpg

For further information:

Ali, Nancy Alima. “Noon Sun Not Directly Overhead Everywhere.” Star Bulletin Archives. May 11, 2010.
Available @ http://archives.starbulletin.com/content/20100511_Noon_sun_not_directly_overhead_everywhere/

Bryan, E.H. (Edwin Horace), Jr.; Richard Crowe; and Timothy F. Slater. Stars Over Hawaii. Third revised edition. Hilo HI: Petroglyph Press, 2015.

“Lahaina Noon 2016: Tips to Avoid Sunburn on Hawaii Vacations.” Beat of Hawaii. April 30, 2016.
Available @ http://beatofhawaii.com/lahaina-noon-10-tips-to-avoid-sunburn-on-hawaii-vacation/

"Lahaina Noon 2016: When the Sun Casts no Shadow." Okunomichi > May 2016.
Available @ https://okunomichi.wordpress.com/2016/05/07/1711/

“May 2016 Skies.” University of Hawaii at Hilo ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center > Sky Information > Monthly Star Charts and Sky Calendars > 2016.
Available @ http://www.imiloahawaii.org/assets/SkyChartMay2016.pdf

Marriner, Derdriu. "2016’s First Lahaina Noon Is May 15; Next 2016 Lahaina Noon Is July 11." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, May 11, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/05/2016s-first-lahaina-noon-is-may-15-next.html

“Skywatch May 2016.” Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum.
Available @ http://www.bishopmuseum.org/skywatch-may-2016/