65 Days of Darkness: This Town Won’t See The Sun Until 2025!

November is coming to an end and many of us begin to yearn for a bit more sunlight. Now, imagine living in a place where the sun vanishes completely for over two months. This is the reality for the residents of Utqiaġvik, Alaska, who are about to experience the unique phenomenon of polar night.

How Come?

Yes, you read that correctly. In the northernmost town of the United States, residents of Utqiaġvik, Alaska, are preparing for an extraordinary annual event – the onset of polar night. On Monday, 18 November 2024, at 1:27 p.m. AKST, the sun set for the final time this year, plunging the town into 65 days of darkness.

Polar night is a fascinating geographical occurrence unique to regions near the Earth’s poles. In Utqiaġvik, located about 320 miles north of the Arctic Circle, this phenomenon results in the sun remaining below the horizon for over two months.

What Causes Polar Night?

This extended period of darkness is due to the Earth’s axial tilt. As our planet orbits the sun, the Northern Hemisphere tilts away during winter months, causing areas within the Arctic Circle to face away from the sun for prolonged periods.

Life During Polar Night

While the concept of constant darkness might seem daunting, Utqiaġvik’s approximately 5,000 residents have adapted to this unique cycle:

• Civil Twilight: Although the sun doesn’t rise, residents experience a few hours of civil twilight daily, providing dim light during what would typically be daytime.

Civil twilight occurs when the sun is no more than 6 degrees below the horizon, providing a soft, ambient glow that makes outdoor visibility possible without artificial light. In Utqiaġvik, Alaska, this period lasts around 3 hours on the winter solstice and stretches to 6 hours at the beginning and end of polar night.

However, not all northern locations are as fortunate. In Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, Norway, polar night plunges the town into complete darkness for 84 days, from November to February, without even the faint illumination of civil twilight. This level of darkness far surpasses anything experienced in the United States.

• Aurora Borealis: The darkness offers perfect conditions for viewing the mesmerizing Northern Lights.

RELATED: The Real Aurora: New Scientific Instrument Reveals True Colours Of The Northern Lights

The Return of the Sun

After 65 days of darkness, Utqiaġvik residents will welcome back the sun on 22 January, 2025, at 1:15 p.m. This return marks the beginning of rapidly increasing daylight hours, eventually culminating in the midnight sun phenomenon during summer months.

Interestingly, Utqiaġvik experiences the opposite extreme during summer. From 11 May to 1st August, 2025, the town will enter “polar day” or the “midnight sun” period, where the sun never sets. Residents use blackout curtains and sunglasses even at “night” during this time.