reisetrafikkforeningen midnattssolens fjellheisen 147.72 midnight_sun magerøya nordlige altafjord 00.19 nordkinn trondheim 103.2 grímsey haugan forenoon trøndelag lutgens massalia tromsø solstice tarbuck trygve spiralling latitudes pytheas gmt fairbanks scribd f.k appreciably
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Midnight sun - wikipedia Midnight sun Jump to : navigation , search For other uses , see Midnight sun ( disambiguation ) . This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . ( August 2013 ) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message ) The Altafjord in Alta , Norway , bathed in the midnight sun . Midnight sun at the North Cape on the island of Magerøya in Norway The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the 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 Northern Hemisphere and 22 December in the Southern Hemisphere ) the sun is visible for the full 24 hours , given fair weather . The number of days per year with potential midnight sun increases the closer 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 . Because there are no permanent human settlements south of the Antarctic Circle , apart from research stations , the countries and territories whose populations experience the midnight sun are limited to those crossed by the Arctic Circle : the Canadian Yukon , Nunavut , and Northwest Territories , and the nations of Iceland , Finland , Norway , Sweden , Denmark ( Greenland ) , Russia , and the State of Alaska in the United States . 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 half the year . The North Pole has midnight sun for 6 months from late March to late September . 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 sun remains continuously visible for one day during the summer solstice at the polar circle , for several weeks only 100 km ( 62 mi ) closer to the pole , and for six months at the pole . At extreme latitudes , the midnight sun is usually referred to as polar day . At the poles themselves , the sun rises and sets only once each year on the equinox . 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 . Because of atmospheric refraction , and also because the sun is a disc 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 places at similar latitudes , such as St. Petersburg ) experience twilight throughout the night 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 . Contents ( hide ) 1 Time zones and daylight saving time 2 White nights 3 Duration 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Time zones and daylight saving time ( edit ) The term `` midnight sun '' refers to the consecutive 24 - hour periods of sunlight experienced north of the Arctic Circle and south of the Antarctic Circle . Other phenomena are sometimes referred to as `` midnight sun '' , but they are caused by 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 in one time zone ) and 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 12 : 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 . Furthermore , 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 . As an example , at the North Cape of Norway 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 ( edit ) Main article : White Night festivals Locations where the sun remains less than 6 ( or 7 ) degrees below the horizon -- above 60 ° 34 ' ( or 59 ° 34 ' ) latitude south of the Arctic Circle or north of the Antarctic Circle -- experience midnight twilight instead of midnight sun , 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 11 June to 2 July , and the last 10 days of June are celebrated with cultural events known as the White Nights Festival . Duration ( edit ) 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 12 June until 1 July . This period extends as one travels north : At Cape Nordkinn , Norway , the northernmost point of Continental Europe , the midnight sun lasts approximately from 14 May to 29 July . On the Svalbard archipelago farther north , it lasts from 20 April to 22 August . See also ( edit ) Environment portal Pytheas , ancient Greek geographer from Massalia and first person to describe the midnight sun Eagle Summit , which , because of its altitude , experiences the midnight sun despite being south of the Arctic Circle Polar night , the opposite phenomenon experienced in winter : a day without sunrise . Midnight Sun Solar Race Team : With the midnight sun phenomenon , a solar - powered vehicle can continue driving 24 hours a day . References ( edit ) Jump up ^ `` What is the Midnight Sun Phenomenon ? Earth Phenomena Planetary Science '' . Scribd . Retrieved 2017 - 08 - 25 . Jump up ^ H. Spencer Jones , General Astronomy ( Edward Arnold , London , 1922 ) , Chapters I - III ^ Jump up to : Great Soviet Encyclopedia Jump up ^ Trygve B. Haugan , ed . Det Nordlige Norge Fra Trondheim Til Midnattssolens Land ( Trondheim : Reisetrafikkforeningen for Trondheim og Trøndelag. 1940 ) Further reading ( edit ) Lutgens F.K. , Tarbuck E.J. ( 2007 ) The Atmosphere , Tenth Edition , page 39 , PEARSON , Prentice Hall , NJ . External links ( edit ) Wikimedia Commons has media related to Midnight sun . Midnight sun seen from Fjellheisen Tromsø - 360 panorama <Th_colspan="4"> ( hide ) Parts of a day <Td_colspan="2"> Dawn -- Twilight -- Sunrise Morning Daytime Evening Sunset -- Twilight -- Dusk Night <Td_colspan="2"> Related articles : Belt of Venus Blue hour Golden hour Terminator Daylight Forenoon Noon Afternoon Midnight Midnight sun Polar night Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Midnight_sun&oldid=803777813 '' Categories : Earth phenomena Arctic geography terminology Sun Hidden categories : Articles needing additional references from August 2013 All articles needing additional references Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikivoyage Afrikaans Azərbaycanca Беларуская Беларуская ( тарашкевіца ) ‎ Brezhoneg Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Gaeilge Хальмг 한국어 Հայերեն Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Lëtzebuergesch Magyar Македонски Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча Português Русский Simple English Slovenčina Suomi Svenska தமிழ் Татарча / tatarça ไทย Türkçe Українська اردو Tiếng Việt 吴语 粵語 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 4 October 2017 , at 15 : 42 . 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