Every year at the North Pole, the sun sets in mid -September and does not return until mid -March - there comes a polar night, which lasts 179 days or about six months. There are the same long nights at the southern polar pole, although in the “opposite time”, when winter comes in the southern hemisphere, writes iflscience.
It is no secret that such long periods of darkness in the winter months are observed in only a few countries located in extreme latitudes. For example, at the northernmost point of Finland in Utsyoki, the polar night begins at the end of November and lasts up to 52 days until January.
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A similar schedule is also observed on the other side of the border in the Arctic Norway: in Nordkap, the northernmost point of the country, the sun is hiding behind the horizon around November 20 and does not return until January 22 - the polar night lasts more than 60 days.
In one of the northernmost cities in the world - in Kaanak in Northern Greenland - the polar night lasts from October 24 to February 17. Researchers note that in Greenland this period is called Kaparlak - local residents are not idle on the dark, but the first sunrise is always welcomed by parties.
According to scientists, some of the longest periods of darkness are observed in the world's largest, constantly settlement in the world: Alert, in the Kikiktaaluk Nunavuta region in Canada. Here the polar night lasts 106 days from October 30 to February 13.
Despite its name, the polar nights are actually not completely black. Some glimpses of light can still be seen within just a few hours every day - during these periods the sky is painted in a soft blue light.
Researchers note that this color of the sky is due to the refraction of sunlight in the earth's atmosphere - this means that it is able to create shades of pink, red, orange and other colors that we can usually observe during sunset or sunrise.
No less impressive, according to researchers, is that even in these incredibly long periods of darkness people in communities continue to live and prosper in these extreme conditions, adapting to the rhythm of polar night.
Previously, Focus wrote that polar nights on Mars glow green: that the mission of Ek discovered.