(Image credit: Daisy Dobrijevic)
Anybody who has actually ventured to the far north or south throughout winter season will have experienced the surreal phenomenon of the “polar night,” throughout which the sun does not increase.
Many people who have actually come across the polar night will have done so in the Northern Hemisphere in either Norway, parts of Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Finland, Russia or Sweden. The only landmass in the Southern Hemisphere to invite the polar night is Antarctica.
Fortunate for me, I got my very first real taste of the polar night while on an Astronomy Voyage along the Norwegian Coast with the Hurtigruten Coastal ExpressI was familiar with the phenomenon and understood what to anticipate, absolutely nothing might have prepared me for the large charm and really surreal experience of waving farewell to the sun for over a week.
What is the polar night?
Throughout the polar night, the sun does not increase above the horizon. This only occurs within the arctic circles– the Arctic Circle and Antarctic Circle– throughout the cold weather. For the Northern Hemisphere, the polar night can be experienced in between September to March and for the Southern Hemisphere, it’s March to September according to timeanddate
The polar night, and the opposite phenomenon called the “midnight sun” where the sun never ever sets, are brought on by the rotation of Earth while it orbits the sun. Earth turns on a slanted axis of around 23.4 degrees which implies there are durations of the year when the arctic circles are either totally obscured from the sun (polar night) or continuously exposed to it (midnight sun).
Is the polar night constantly dark?
It’s a typical mistaken belief that due to the fact that the sun never ever increases throughout the polar night it is pitch black the whole time.
It was entirely dark by about 2 p.m. most days throughout my Hurtigruten Voyage from Bergen to Kirkenes and back, it wasn’t constantly dark.
For a couple of hours every day, we were enhanced with a soft blue light that delicately brightened the sensational landscape. I have actually never ever seen the sky turn many various colors.
As there is no direct sunshine throughout the polar night, the slither of light that we experienced was because of the refraction of sunshine through Earth’s environment
The outcome? A stunning dreamscape with pink, orange, purple and wintry blue skies
The long nights were ideal for stargazing and obviously, searching the northern lights that made various looks throughout our trip.
Belt of Venus
Throughout the polar night, the “Belt of Venus,” likewise referred to as an “anti-twilight arch,” placed on rather the program. It is noticeable throughout goldeneither prior to dawn or after sundown when the sun is listed below the horizon.
The climatic phenomenon is triggered when Earth obstructs the sun’s rays and casts a shadow along almost 180 degrees of the horizon. Above the shadow– in between 10 and 20 degrees above the horizon– is the Belt of Venus.
The rosy color is triggered when sunshine goes through Earth’s environment at a low angle, much shorter wavelength blue light is spread while longer wavelength traffic signal stays, a procedure called Rayleigh scattering. When the reddened rays integrate with spread blue light along the shadow’s edge, a rosy pink shade is developed.
Contrary to what the name recommends, the hazy pink arch has absolutely nothing to do with VenusWell, not the world anyhow. It has actually been recommended that the name might have been motivated by the girdle used by the Greek goddess Aphrodite, the Roman equivalent of Venus according to the BBC Sky during the night Magazine
I completely took pleasure in experiencing the polar night however it was not without its obstacles.
In simply one week I might currently feel my body clock had actually been tossed entirely out of whack; sensation starving at unusual times and yearning my bed by 3 p.m.
Fortunate for me the appeal of clear star-studded skies and abundance of northern lights was enough of a draw to keep me awake throughout the long night. That, and the bracing Arctic wind that slapped you in the face the minute you stepped outside.
Editor’s note: This short article was enabled by travel offered by Hurtigruten.
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