If you are afraid of the dark, you will not like the town in the north of America at all.
The longest night began when the sun set on November 18 in the town of Itkiajuk, formerly known as Barrow, in the US state of Alaska.
In fact, it was the last time the sun set in the town in 2020, and residents will be able to see the sunlight again more than two months later.
This is because of the polar night or polar night that appears every winter in the Arctic and Antarctica because the earth tilts slightly on its axis.
This can keep the Arctic Circle away from the sun for many days, weeks, or even months during winter and spring.
In contrast, in summer, the region receives 24 hours of sunshine and is called the Midnight Sun.
In the northern hemisphere, the duration of the day begins to decrease from the end of June and the duration of sunset begins to decrease in each country, but the effect is greatest on the northern regions.
The duration of the day there is rapidly decreasing at the end of September, as was the case in this town in Alaska.
On November 1, sunshine was observed for 5 hours and 42 minutes in Ytkyajuk, ie the sun rose at 10:18 a.m. and set at 4:00 p.m.
At 1:30pm AKST this afternoon, the sun will set and Utqiaġvik will enter a 66 day period of polar night. The sun will rise again on January 23rd, 2021. #akwx pic.twitter.com/iN4KXGxBh9
— NWS Fairbanks (@NWSFairbanks) November 18, 2020
On November 18, the sun rose for only 34 minutes and set at 1:29 pm and will rise again 66 days later.
By the way, the sunlight will be visible to some extent during this time, but it will not be like the normal sunset or sunrise.
The sun will now rise there again on January 23.
It is a shame to hear about the darkness for more than two months, but the town also faces the light of day that never ends from May 11 to August 18.
The sun sets and rises once a year in the North and South Poles, ie the sun rises in spring and sets in winter.
At the North Pole, this results in sunlight from March to September, while the remaining six months are dark and only the stars, the moon, are visible.
What's even more amazing is that this town in Alaska has as many hours of sunshine as cities in other countries, because of the long summer days.
