Talk:Midnight sun

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In general, visitors and newcomers are most affected; they are easily spotted in residential areas by the aluminum folium glued onto their bedroom windows to obtain darkness inside.

Well, I may just be a very bad observer, but living north of the arctic circle (in Norway) I have never spotted any windows with aluminum foil. Unless someone comes up with a citation it should be removed. Xenos 03:44, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

$ This is interesting:

The period of midnight sun is reportedly very taxing on the human body. Peaks in the suicide figures and increased severity of mental disorders have been demonstrated to occur in summer months.

I was under the impression that it is the long winter nights that caused depression in arctic countries, especially because that's what's claimed by people living there! Maybe the negative effects of white nights are related to sleep deprivation? -- Miguel

As a person living in Norway, I am also surprised by this statement. Peaks in suicide during sommer is more often explained as unsatisfied expectations rather than too much light.
Anyway, that Iceland is a place to experience the midnight sun is strange considering that the nothern part of Iceland is below tha Artic circle. If noone protests, I'm going to change that. (By and large, Norway is _the_ country to watch it, but I don't want to be looked upon as a nationalist.)

Jon

There is midnight sun in Iceland, because of refraction. This fact is included in the article: Due to refraction, the midnight sun may be experienced at latitudes slightly below the polar circle, though not exceeding a degree (depending on local conditions). Please do not remove the Iceland reference. Gerritholl aka Topjaklont | Talk 17:48, 16 Nov 2004 (UTC)
OK, then I don't. (However, would you call it 'midnight sun'? At least a parenthetic (due to refraction) should be included. Jon

Contents

[edit] Midnight sun at the Arctic Circle

The length of the time when the sun is above the horizon varies from 20 hours at the Arctic Circle and Antarctic Circle to 186 days at the poles.

I don't understand - I think one should be able to see the sun at the Arctic Circle, for 24 hours on summer solstice. --Puzzlet Chung 06:53, 1 November 2005 (UTC)

I have a question. I am writing a short story, and I want to keep my facts straight. I was in Finnish Lapland in January in the mid 1980s, and I remember seeing the midnight sun. Yet, the information on this website states that the midnight sun only occurs in summer. If this is so, what is the correct wording for what I saw? --Chris

Um, if you were in Lapland in January, you probably hardly saw the sun at all - the winter is just the opposite. --BluePlatypus 01:24, 22 March 2006 (UTC)
Chris, what you saw in Lapland in January was probably aurora (astronomy). --Langfeldt 12:15, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

Help! I don't believe that midnight sun lasts for 186 days at the poles. That would be more then half a year - that is impossible! On vernal and autumnal solstice the sun shines exactly 12 hours at every point of the earth, even at the poles. And I did never hear that polar sun and polar night switch like electric light! The duration of these phenomenons must be shorter. If I assume a daily change of sunshine duration of one hour, there would remain a time of (182-24=)158 days. But i don't know the true values for the poles. (Otherwise i would have changed the page). -- 84.160.130.4 22:28, 26 April 2006 (UTC)

That was mine above! --W-alter 22:30, 26 April 2006 (UTC)

The north and south poles are stationary on the axis of rotation - the only movement is caused by the 365.2422 day orbit around the sun. At northern summer solstice, the axis is tilted 23 degrees toward the sun at the north pole and 23 degrees away from the sun at the south pole. At equinox, if you were on the sun, the Earth would look like it's leaning sideways 23 degrees. In the meantime, the earth is still turning on the axis and the north pole is not "moving". However, the move of Earth's position no longer has the north pole 23 degrees inside the daylight zone, but now right at the night-day line. For the next three months, the north pole will move into and through the night zone where the sun can't reach it.

A point further south than the pole, however, is constantly circling around the pole, and at equinox, is circling into and out of the daylight in each 24 hour period.

182.5 days would be an expected length for day and then for night at a pole. However, I can accept 186 days for day because the sun's diameter is not a point but a disk, and gravity and atmosphere can refract the sun around the curvature of the Earth for a short distance. GBC 16:48, 27 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Iceland again

With regard to the above question of whether a "true" midnight sun can be experienced in Iceland - the island of Grímsey at least lies directly on the arctic circle, so it's possible to see it there even without the need for refraction. ^_~ -- Schnee (cheeks clone) 02:14, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Yes, but that's just a few square kilometers of the country... I think it'd be a bit misleading. Although the idea of 'midnight sun' can be a bit vague, since it does stay light outside all night in the summer for quite a distance south of the Arctic Circle. (all of Iceland, for sure) --BluePlatypus 01:27, 22 March 2006 (UTC)
There is quite a tourist trade in Grímsey because of the midnight sun, so people actually go there to witness it. Also because of refraction, a sizable portion of the 'mainland' also gets it. I live at the edge of this zone at ca. 100 km south from the circle (the view of the extreme north horizon is blocked by a mountain so it doesn't really matter). It's silly to speak of a "true" midnight sun (vs. a fake one?), the observers don't see the difference. --Bjarki 09:11, 28 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Permanent Settlements in Antarctic Circle

Re: "Since there are no permanent human settlements south of the Antarctic Circle..." There are some, in fact, but they aren't "cities." Argentina's Base Orcadas has been permanently inhabited since 1904, largely to credit Argentina's Antarctic claim... in opposition to the British who annexed the South Orkney Islands along with the Malvinas in 1908 as part of the Falkland Islands Dependency. It seems like a minor detail, but I think permanent habitation is important to the validity of the various Antarctic claims. Maybe someone who has worked on the article previously could clarify that little detail.

[edit] Picture from Saint Petersburg relevant?

What is the basis for presenting a picture from Saint Petersburg at the 59th parallel as an illustration of the midnight sun fenomenon. Unless there is presented some argument for this, I will remove the picture from the article.--EvenT 22:45, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

The purpose of this picture is to illustrate the paragrapf about the related phenomena - the white night. It's clear that white night is not the same as midnight sun, but it's quite close. (Anonymous from St. Petersburg)
By the way, the name of the pictured bridge is Alexander Nevsky Bridge, not The Liteyny Bridge - the name of that file is incorrect. You can check it by reading corresponding articles. (Anonymous from St. Petersburg) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.209.231.150 (talk) 10:47, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] White Night

Do other places, such as Iqaluit, experience white nights too? Nocturnal Wanderer sign 17:37, 9 June 2007 (UTC)

Yes, I'm not sure how far south it extends but if St. Petersburg has it at 60° then Iqaluit at 63° surely does. --Bjarki 09:03, 28 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Nuclear Weapons

Can anyone explain why there is a link to "Nuclear Weapons" in the "See Also" section? What does the midnight sun have to do with nuclear weapons in any way? I believe this link should probably be removed unless someone knows the reason for it. --Cecilkorik (talk) 22:28, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] On the influence on people

I stayed in Upernavik for three months last summer, and most of the time there was midnight sun. There, people react to it in a manner where they stay up very long. Kids stay out till 2-3 am. I thought a lot about how to visualize the influnce of the constant sun on people and the climate and I came up with this photo taken at 11:45 pm. I do not know if it could be of relevanse in the article? -- Slaunger (talk) 21:15, 18 April 2008 (UTC)