Midnight Sun/Polar Night: Why Do They Happen?

Not everyone that lives in a country where these phenomena are not happening, is aware of them. In general, Midnight Sun is a period of a year where the sun is visible 24 hours per day. Yeap, the sun is not setting at all! There is no twilight and if you prefer the night, you are doomed! Ok, not really. However, it can and it actually causes a lot of problems, and even religions have taken steps to account for this phenomenon.

Polar Night is the exact opposite effect, where the sun is not rising at all! Both of those phenomena are happening every year in 2 specific areas of our Earth: above (and around) the Arctic Circle and below (and around) the Antarctic Circle.

Source: Pixabay

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From the beginning

As it is proven (unless you believe that Earth is flat), Earth completes a revolution around itself every 24 hours - that's what we call a Day. Also, Earth is orbiting around the Sun, and this orbit is around 365.26 days long. Another fact is that Earth's axis is not parallel to its orbit around the Sun: The Axial Tilt is around 23.439281°. To add insult to injury, this changes over time (however it takes waaaay too long... it takes about 25800 years)

This Axial Tilt, in combination with the Earth's orbit around the Sun, is causing what we perceive as Seasons (Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn). Seasons are what I call "mutually opposite". When it's Winter in the Northern Hemisphere, it is Summer in the Southern Hemisphere. Spring in the North? Autumn in the South! [0]

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So why Midnight Sun happens?

Midnight Sun at Altafjord, Norway. Source: Wikipedia

Due to the Axial Tilt, as summer approaches to either hemisphere, the days are getting longer. When the Summer Solstice approaches (between June 20-22 for the North and December 20-23 for the South), each pole is getting closer to the Sun. The closer you get to the pole, the bigger the length of the Midnight Sun! This period is also known as a Polar Day. At the same period, the exact opposite part in the earth experiences the same amount of days without sunlight, which would be called a Polar Night! [1][2][3]

Where can I experience it?

The Arctic/Antarctic Circle boundary is not the actual boundary of this effect, but it is easier to define it like that, with the most noteable example: Iceland! Most of the Iceland is out of the Arctic Circle, however you can experience Midnight Sun in Iceland from mid-July to mid-August. [4]

Cape Nordkinn, Norway (which is the most Northern part of the European Continent,) experiences Midnight Sun from May 14 to July 29. That is 76 days of continuous sunlight. [5]

Alert, Nunavut (Canada) experiences Midnight Sun for April 7 to September 4, a whooping 151 days! [6]

While getting closer to the Earth's Axis, Midnight Sun lasts up to 6 months. Oh boy, I wouldn't want to be there!

So what happens NEAR the actual boundary of Midnight Sun?

Early White Night at St. Petersburg. Source: Wikipedia

There is another phenomenon, relative to Midnight Sun, called White Night. Although the sun sets, it is close enough to the horizon that there is constant twilight which allows you to read, or write a Steemit article on paper without needing artificial lights! Due to this phenomenon, there various events & festivals held around the world (known as White Night festivals). The most notable city (or symbol) of White Nights is St. Petersburg, Russia, where the first White Night festival was held in the last 10 days of June (with White Night starting around June 11 and ending around July 2) [3][7]

You said something about religions?

Well, yes. Muslims during Ramadan are required to not eat and drink (even water) during daylight. However they are free to eat/drink at night. As you can see, it is a huge problem during Midnight Sun, even if Midnight Sun happens for a couple of days! The general advice is to use the Day/Night circle of Mecca or the nearest Muslim City, in order to prevent health issues. [8]

Same goes for the Jewish population of those areas. There are different mitzvot (commandments) taking part in daytime and different ones in nighttime. There are 2 different school of thoughts: The first one being "If it ain't day, do not perform it". A more modern approach, is similar to what the Muslims do: Use a clock and observe day and nighttime according to your hometown! [9]

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I hope you enjoyed my second STEM article. Midnight Sun & Polar Night are sure 2 very interesting phenomena that everyone should be familiar with. Unfortunately though, there are not many images that allow commercial use.

As always, feel free to leave a comment below with your thoughts. If you have lived through Midnight Sun, I would love to know how you felt being constantly hit by daylight! I, for that matter, would prefer to experience Polar Night for a week. I just love darkness that allows us to see the true beauty around us: The stars!

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Sources & Further Reading:

[0] Earth - Wikipedia
[1] Midnight Sun - Britannica
[2] Midnight Sun - How Stuff Works
[3] Midnight Sun - Wikipedia
[4] Midnight Sun in Iceland
[5] Midnight Sun in Norway
[6] Alert, Nunavut - Wikipedia
[7] White Nights festivals
[8] Arctic Ramadan: fasting in land of midnight sun comes with a challenge
[9] Jewish Law in the Polar Regions