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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight_sun
Midnight sun
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon occurring in summer months at places north of the Arctic Circle and south of the Antarctic Circle where the sun remains visible at the local midnight. Around the solstice (June 21 in the north and December 21 in the south) and given fair weather the sun is visible for the full 24 hours. 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 midnight sun can be seen as much as 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 human settlements south of the Antarctic Circle, so the countries and territories whose populations experience it are limited to the ones crossed by the Arctic Circle, e.g. Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut), Greenland, Iceland, Finland, Spmi, Norway, Russia, Sweden, 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 a hundred kilometres 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 only rises once and sets once each year. During the six months when 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
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conditions). For example, Iceland is known for its midnight sun, even though most of it (Grmsey being a notable exception) is slightly south of the Arctic Circle. The same mechanisms cause the period of sunlight at the poles to last slightly more than six months. Even the northern extremities of Scotland (and those places on similar latitudes such as St. Petersburg) experience a permanent twilight in the northern sky at these times. 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
1 Time zones and daylight saving time 2 White Nights 3 When to see the midnight sun 4 Effect on people 5 In fiction 6 See also 7 References 8 Additional Reading 9 External links
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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.
Effect on people
Many find it difficult to fall asleep during the night when the sun is shining. In general, visitors and newcomers are most affected. Some natives are also affected, but in general to a lesser degree. The effect of the midnight sun, that is, not experiencing night for long durations of time, is said to cause hypomania, which is characterized by persistent and pervasive elevated or irritable mood. The midnight sun also poses special challenges to religious people such as Jewish people who have religious rites based around the 24 hour day/night cycle. In the Jewish community this has given rise to a body of Jewish law in the polar regions, which attempts to deal with the special challenges of adhering to Map showing the dates of midnight sun at the Mitzvah in such conditions. Another related religion that various latitudes (left) and the total number suffers from this is Islam, where fasting during daylight hours in of nights. 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. The Seventh Day Adventists and other Sabbath-keeping Christians keep the Sabbath day holy when the sun goes down Friday, until the sun goes down Saturday, and Joseph Bates suggested to keep the equatorial sunset as a reference to the Sabbath time, for those that deal with the midnight sun because the equator sunrise and sunset occur consistently throughout the year plus or minus 10 minutes at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. respectively.[4]
In fiction
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In the film Insomnia and its American remake, the protagonist suffers from insomnia partially brought on by the midnight sun while investigating a murder north of the Arctic Circle (Norway in the original, and Alaska in the remake). In "The Midnight Sun", an episode of The Twilight Zone, the Earth is on a collision course with the sun, causing a midnight sun effect. The episode of Northern Exposure entitled Midnight Sun explores the effects of the phenomenon on the small Alaskan town's residents. In the Stephen Sondheim musical 'A Little Night Music', the two Night Waltzes deal specifically with the phenomenon of Midnight Sun.
See also
Eagle Summit, which experiences midnight sun despite being south of the Arctic Circle because of altitude Land of the Midnight Sun Polar night - The opposite phenomenon experienced in winter: a day without sunrise. Midnight Sun Solar Race Team - Name of a solar race car team: With the midnight sun phenomenon, a solar-powered vehicle can continue driving 24 hours a day
References
1. ^ H. Spencer Jones, General Astronomy (Edward Arnold, London, 1922), Chapters I-III 2. ^ a b Great Soviet Encyclopedia 3. ^ Trygve B. Haugan, ed. Det Nordlige Norge Fra Trondheim Til Midnattssolens Land (Trondheim: Reisetrafikkforeningen for Trondheim og Trndelag. 1940) 4. ^ http://www.biblestudy.org/godsrest/when-does-the-bible-sabbath-begin-and-end.html
Additional Reading
1. Lutgens F.K., Tarbuck E.J. (2007) The Atmosphere, Tenth Edition, page 39, PEARSON, Prentice Hall, NJ.
External links
Visit Norway - Midnight Sun Page (http://www.visitnorway.com/en/Articles/Theme/Whatto-do/Attractions/Nature/The-magical-midnight-sun/) Midnight sun seen from Fjellheisen Troms - 360 panorama (http://www.virtualtromso.no /en/panoramas-from-tromso/56-midnight-sun-seen-from-fjellheisen-cable-car.html) Midnight Sun Solar Race Car Team (http://www.uwmidsun.com/) Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Midnight_sun&oldid=570440225" Categories: Earth phenomena Arctic geography terminology This page was last modified on 27 August 2013 at 20:00. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
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