The polar night is a phenomenon where the nighttime lasts for more than 24 hours that occurs in the northernmost and southernmost regions of Earth. This occurs only inside the polar circles.
What is Polar Night?
Polar Night is a phenomenon when the sun doesn’t rise at all. There are various types of Polar Night and they’re often categorized by how dark the sky is.
The Sun never rises:
Each year, there is a time where the Sun does not appear above the horizon in the winter. There may be elements of twilight, but the Sun is not seen.
Occurs above The Arctic/Antarctic Circle
The Arctic and its southern counterpoint, the Antarctic Circle, are defined by the fact that they experience polar nights. Due to our planet’s tilt, there will be a time between September to March where part of the Earth completely blocks out the Sun from these polar places.
Polar Nights are counted by 24 hour cycles
Polar nights are counted in daily increments
The Midnight Sun is the Opposite:
If polar nights take place from September to March, the Midnight Sun comes out from April to August.
The Closer to the Pole the Longer the Night
Due to Earth’s polar axis, the north and south pole are more obstructed from the Sun than places further south. That means that the closer you get to the North Pole, you will experience the most polar nights.
At the North Pole, the polar night begins when the Sunsets at the Autumn Equinox in September and the Sun won’t appear again until the Spring Equinox in March, having had six months of darkness. Yet, for the next six months, the Sun will now set.