"In high latitudes, the sun is an unreliable companion. It lingers long past midnight in summer, washing mountains and shorelines in a perpetual glow, then abandons the horizon entirely in winter, leaving only a faint blue light at midday. This is the reality of polar day and polar night, phenomena born of the Earth's axial tilt. Above the Arctic Circle and below the Antarctic Circle, the planet tips far enough for the sun to stay in view-or out of sight-for months at a stretch."
"Some 350 kilometers (about 217 miles) north of the Arctic Circle, Tromsø spends its summer wrapped in the soft gold of the midnight sun from late May to late July. Light rests low on the horizon, flattening shadows and giving the city a dreamlike calm even at two in the morning. Locals hike up Mount Storsteinen long after dinner or paddle kayaks in fjords so still they mirror the sky."
Polar day and polar night arise from the Earth's axial tilt, causing the sun to remain above or below the horizon for extended periods at high latitudes. Above the Arctic Circle and below the Antarctic Circle, some locations experience continuous daylight in summer and deep twilight or darkness in winter. Coastal settlements such as Tromsø see midnight sun from late May to late July and polar night beginning in late November, with residents adapting through outdoor summer activities and indoor winter gatherings. Remote archipelagos like Svalbard endure even longer extremes, with the sun circling overhead for months in summer and prolonged absence in winter, influencing sleep, social life, and travel.
Read at Conde Nast Traveler
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