Midnight sun

The Altafjord in Alta, Norway bathed in the Midnight Sun

The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the local summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the sun remains visible at the local midnight. Around the summer solstice (approximately 21 June in the north and 22 December in the south) the sun is visible for the full 24 hours, given fair weather. The number of days per year with potential midnight sun increases the farther towards either pole one goes. Although approximately defined by the polar circles, in practice the midnight sun can be seen as much as 55 miles (90 km) outside the polar circle, as described below, and the exact latitudes of the farthest reaches of midnight sun depend on topography and vary slightly year-to-year.

There are no permanent economically autonomous human settlements south of the Antarctic Circle, only research stations, so the countries and territories whose populations experience it are limited to those crossed by the Arctic Circle: Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut), Greenland, Iceland, Finland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States (Alaska). A quarter of Finland's territory lies north of the Arctic Circle and at the country's northernmost point the sun does not set at all for 60 days during summer. In Svalbard, Norway, the northernmost inhabited region of Europe, there is no sunset from approximately 19 April to 23 August. The extreme sites are the poles where the sun can be continuously visible for a half year.

The opposite phenomenon, polar night, occurs in winter when the sun stays below the horizon throughout the day.

Since the axial tilt of the Earth is considerable (approximately 23 degrees 27 minutes) the sun does not set at high latitudes in (local) summer. The duration of sunlight increases from one day during the summer solstice at the polar circle to several weeks only 100 km closer to the pole, to six months at the poles. At extreme latitudes, it is usually referred to as polar day.

At the poles themselves, the sun rises and sets only once each year. During the six months that the sun is above the horizon, it spends the days continuously moving in circles around the observer, gradually spiralling higher and reaching its highest circuit of the sky at the summer solstice.

Due to atmospheric refraction and also because the sun is a disk rather than a point, the midnight sun may be experienced at latitudes slightly below the polar circle, though not exceeding one degree (depending on local conditions). For example, Iceland is known for its midnight sun, even though most of it (Grímsey is the exception) is slightly south of the Arctic Circle. For the same reasons, the period of sunlight at the poles is slightly longer than six months. Even the northern extremities of Scotland (and those places on similar latitudes such as St. Petersburg) experience twilight in the northern sky at around the summer solstice.

Observers at heights appreciably above sea level can experience extended periods of midnight sun as a result of the 'dip' of the horizon viewed from altitude.

Time zones and daylight saving time

The term "midnight sun" refers to the phenomenon of the consecutive only 24 hours of sunlight north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle. There are, however, some instances which are sometimes referred to as "midnight sun", even though they are in reality due to time zones and the observance of daylight saving time. For instance, in Fairbanks, Alaska, which is south of the Arctic Circle, the sun sets at 12:47 am at the summer solstice. This is because Fairbanks is 51 minutes ahead of its idealized time zone (as most of the state is on one time zone) and in addition the state of Alaska observes daylight saving time. (Fairbanks is at about 147.72 degrees west, corresponding to UTC−9 hours 51 minutes, and is on UTC−9 in winter.) This means that solar culmination occurs at about 1:51 pm. instead of at 12 noon.

If a precise moment for the genuine "midnight sun" is required, the observer's longitude, the local civil time and the equation of time must be taken into account. The moment of the sun's closest approach to the horizon coincides with its passing due north at the observer's position, which occurs only approximately at midnight in general. Each degree of longitude east of the Greenwich meridian makes the vital moment exactly 4 minutes earlier than midnight as shown on the clock, while each hour that the local civil time is ahead of coordinated universal time (UTC, also known as GMT) makes the moment an hour later. These two effects must be added. In addition the equation of time (which depends on the date) must be added: a positive value on a given date means that the sun is running slightly ahead of its average position, so the value must be subtracted.[1]

As an example, at the North Cape at midnight on June 21/22, the longitude of 25.9 degrees east makes the moment 103.2 minutes earlier by clock time; but the local time, 2 hours ahead of GMT in the summer, makes it 120 minutes later by clock time. The equation of time at that date is -2.0 minutes. Therefore, the sun's lowest elevation occurs 120 - 103.2 + 2.0 minutes after midnight: at 00.19 Central European Summer time. On other nearby dates the only thing different is the equation of time, so this remains a reasonable estimate for a considerable period. The sun's altitude remains within half a degree of the minimum of about 5 degrees for about 45 minutes either side of this time.

White nights

Main article: White Night festivals

Locations where the sun is less than 6 (or 7[2]) degrees below the horizon which are above 60° 34’ (or 59° 34’) latitude that are south of the Arctic Circle or north of the Antarctic Circle experience midnight twilight instead, so that daytime activities, such as reading, are still possible without artificial light on a clear night.

White Nights have become a common symbol of Saint Petersburg, Russia, where they occur from about June 11 to July 2,[2] and the last 10 days of June are celebrated with cultural events known as the White Nights Festival.

When to see the midnight sun

Map showing the dates of midnight sun at various latitudes (left) and the total number of nights.

The Midnight Sun is visible at the Arctic Circle from June 12 until July 1. This period extends as one travels further north.

At Cape Nordkinn, Norway, known as the northernmost point of Continental Europe, this period extends approximately from May 14 to July 29. On the Svalbard archipelago further north, this period extends from April 20 to August 22.[3]

Effect on people

The midnight sun is also an issue for those who observe religious rules based around the 24-hour day/night cycle. In the Jewish community there is a body of law which attempts to deal with adherence to the Mitzvah in such conditions. Another affected religion is Islam, where fasting during daylight hours in Ramadan would imply total abstinence. Also, Muslims have 5 obligatory prayers daily which are timed according to position of the sun, so it becomes difficult for them to decide the prayer times; however, they can follow the timings of the closest place that has a normal sun cycle or the timings of Mecca, the holiest city of Islam.

In fiction

In music

See also

References

  1. ↑ H. Spencer Jones, General Astronomy (Edward Arnold, London, 1922), Chapters I-III
  2. 1 2 Great Soviet Encyclopedia
  3. ↑ Trygve B. Haugan, ed. Det Nordlige Norge Fra Trondheim Til Midnattssolens Land (Trondheim: Reisetrafikkforeningen for Trondheim og Trøndelag. 1940)

Further reading

External links

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