Did You Know That the Polar Night Can Last Half a Year?

The polar night is the period during which the sun does not rise for 24 hours. This phenomenon of total darkness occurs only within the Polar Circles. The closer one is to the North or South Pole (within the Polar Circle), the longer the polar night lasts. At the North or South Pole itself, the polar night can last almost half a year.

How Does It Work?

The polar night occurs due to the tilt of the Earth relative to its orbit around the sun. During the winter months, the pole of the Earth (the Northern Hemisphere in winter or the Southern Hemisphere in summer) is tilted away from the sun, preventing sunlight from reaching these areas.

Duration of the Polar Night

• North Pole (Arctic Region): In places like Barrow (now Utqiaġvik), Alaska, the polar night can last about 65 days, from late November to mid-January.
• South Pole (Antarctic Region): At the South Pole, the polar night can last even longer, up to 6 months, because the sun does not rise at all during winter.

During this time, it remains dark all day, or there is only faint twilight visible on the horizon. When the sun finally rises, it stays in the sky for weeks before setting again, creating the opposite effect: the polar day, with the midnight sun, when it is light for 24 hours a day.

The photo accompanying this article is from Pexels.com