n. 1  1. An inborn pattern of behavior that is characteristic of a species and is often a response to specific environmental stimuli: the spawning instinct in salmon; altruistic instincts in social animals. 2  2. A powerful motivation or impulse. 3  3. An innate capability or aptitude: an instinct for tact and diplomacy.
Daylight Hours: 16 hours, 15 minutes (-6m 51s) The Sun's altitude in Fairbanks today. The horizontal line signifies the horizon, the vertical lines show the times of sunrise and sunset. Altitude and heading are displayed in the box on the right. The graph defaults to current time.
Photo by the University of Alaska Fairbanks. December 2, 2012. The opposite of the midnight sun happens during the winter solstice. In Fairbanks, during the darkest day of the year, the sun rises for about three hours just as in the summer it only sets for three hours. The midnight sun is only found above the arctic circle, when the sun dips but never fully sets. The arctic circle is 66 degrees, 33 minutes and 44 seconds latitude.