Midnight Summer Solstice

[IanR]

So with my limited understanding of Astronomy on June 21st the sun reaches the northernmost part of its travel and is over the Tropic of Cancer approx 23.5 degrees North.

So can someone explain to me how in the land of the Midnight Sun e.g. Scandinavia - not where Jimi comes from, that the sun does not set?

You need a globe to visualise this but just supposing there you are in Sweden, its 11pm+ and apparently you see the sun dipping towards the west at what is supposed to be sun set and then it starts to rise again.

My question is if the sun only gets to 23.5' N how are you going to see the Sun above the horizon all the time (over the North pole) being normal height and all that? Ive gotta be missing something and I gotta get a life too!

Anyone know?

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[AndrewB]

There is an easy diagram and explanation <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/solarsystem/earth/solsticescience.shtml>HERE</A>.

If words won't serve, try it out with an orange and a lightbulb. Hold the orange by a finger at each end, a few feet away from and level with the lightbulb. Tip the orange by around 23 degrees (no need for accuracy), so that the top end is inclined towards the bulb. Spin the orange between your fingers, like the earth turning daily, it should be clear enough that one end always catches the light, the middle gets light and dark, while the bottom is always in the dark.

Now, still holding the orange level with the bulb and not altering the angle at which you are holding it or the distance from the bulb, move it in a circle around the bulb. When it reaches the far side, the bottom of the orange will be catching the light all the time. That's what happens in winter.

 

[StugeronSteve]

Here goes with a stupid answer:

From what I can remember, it is light all night in the higher latitudes, but that is not to say that the currant bun up there providing twenty four hour tanning. We observe the sun setting over the horizon in the west and the further south one goes in the summer months the earlier the sun sets. I would therefore assume that as one travels north, and the diameter of the Earth at that latitude reduces, one sees the sun rise much earlier in the east and set much later in the west due to the greater field of vision.

This has not been thought out and is probably badly explained and a load of b****x.

<hr width=100% size=1>Semper Bufo

 

[IanR]

Thanks guys but my question is does the sun really set below the horizon and therefore you are in twilight?

If it does not then you must be seeing directly over the North Pole, or am I too close to my Vinho Verde?



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[StugeronSteve]

Yes. The sun does dip below the horizon, but for a shorter period the further north one goes.

<hr width=100% size=1>Semper Bufo

 

[AlexL]

its all got to do with the angle of dangle - the earth is tilted 23.5 degrees, so if you are at a latitude of 66.5 degrees (90-23.5) then on the 21st june the sun does not set - the further above this the more days of the year the sun does not set.
Below 66.5 degrees it can look like the sun doesn't set because the twighlight times overlap, so it stays light, although technically the sun has set.

This could be complete bo****ks of course, but it makes sense to me!

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[boatless]

An observer at 66.5N is 'on top of the world' at his local midnight because the Earth's axis is 23.5 degrees from vertical. So, yes, he is looking over the Pole.

<hr width=100% size=1>my opinion is complete rubbish, probably.

 

[snowleopard]

if you are north of the arctic circle, the sun appears to travel around you in a circle, dipping towards the northern horizon at 'midnight' but never setting.

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[Dougie_the_Mate]

The commentator on the Sweden v Holland match said that the Swedes would be celebrating Midsummer's eve last night. Surely the solstice is the same wherever you are? Yes - No?

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[ubuysa]

Yes it is. However on 26th June this year the sun set at the latest time of day and I suspect that's what the Swedes were using???

The solstice is the longest period of daylight, but the earliest sunrise occurs a day or two before solstice and the latest sunset a day or two after.

Tony C.

<hr width=100% size=1>There are 10 kinds of people, those who understand binary and those who don't.