Midnight sun

Discover Midnight sun

Midnight sun is the sun being above horizon throughout the night, while polar night is when the sun stays below it even in the day. They can be experienced in the Arctic and Antarctica. The Earth's axis is tilted by 23 degrees in relation to the ecliptic (the plane of its orbit around the Sun) and this causes the seasons. When your part of Earth is tilted toward the Sun, you get summer; when it is tilted away, winter. For any latitude, the angle between vertical and the noon sun ranges from latitude minus tilt at the summer solstice to latitude plus tilt at the winter solstice, and is exactly the latitude on the equinoxes. In the tropics — within 23 degrees of the equator — that range includes 0° so at times the Sun is directly overhead. In Arctic or Antarctic regions — within 23 degrees of the poles — it includes 90° so at times the Sun is on or below the horizon even at noon or is above the horizon even at midnight