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 2021, and now residents will be able to see the sun again more than two months later.
This is because of the polar night or polar night that occurs every winter in the Arctic and Antarctic regions as the earth tilts slightly on its axis.
The FAA's webcam had an excellent view of the sun grazing the horizon today in Utqiaġvik! #akwx https://t.co/EgxHxPIfuZ pic.twitter.com/GLlRDkPD7L
— NWS Fairbanks (@NWSFairbanks) November 18, 2021
This allows the Arctic Circle to stay away from the sun for many days, weeks and 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 its effect is greatest in the northern regions.
The duration of the day there begins to decrease rapidly at the end of September, as it did 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.
On November 18, the sun rose for only 34 minutes and set at 1:29 pm and will now rise again in 65 days.
By the way, the sunlight will be visible to some extent during this time, but it will not be like the usual sunset or sunrise.
By the way, hearing about the darkness for more than 2 months may seem like a mistake, but this town also faced the light of day that never ends from May 11 to August 2, 2021.
At the North and South Poles the sun sets and rises once a year, ie the sun rises in spring and sets in winter.
In the North Pole, this results in sunlight from March to September, while the remaining 6 months are dark and only the stars, moonlight is visible.
What's even more amazing is that this town in Alaska has as many hours of sunshine as cities in other countries, due to the long summer days.
This is because the sun does not set 24 hours a day for several weeks each year.
