This timelapse reveals how the sun doesn ’ t set during the Midnight Sun .
The Magic of the Midnight Sun
ANIBAL TREJO / SHUTTERSTOCK . COM
Picture the scene : it ’ s the Fourth of July , and you ’ re at a baseball game . Brats are on the grill , and beers are flowing freely ; the sun shines down on you on this perfect summer day . For residents in Fairbanks , Alaska , a Fourth of July baseball game is a tradition , but there ’ s a catch : they play at midnight . A curious occurrence dubbed “ the Midnight Sun ,” each year from April through August , the Earth ’ s axis tilts toward the sun , bathing regions in the Northern Hemisphere in a nearly continuous stream of daylight , with some summer days raging on for 24 hours straight . For the uninitiated , watching our solar system ’ s friendly ball of fire refuse to dip below the horizon can feel wrong . But , for those in the Arctic , the Midnight Sun is a blessing , offering a much-needed dose of Vitamin D after a long stretch of “ Polar Darkness ,” the Midnight Sun ’ s counterpart , where the same areas experience little to no daylight from October through March .
SPRING 2024 / THE COMPASS / 37