MAGAZINE ERASMUS SUN 2 | Page 5

The polar night is a period of time when the Sun stays below the horizon for more than 24 hours. This only occurs above the Arctic and Antarctic circles, and slightly below, due to the refraction of light. Polar Nights are caused by the tilt of the Earth when the Sun light doesn’t reach the North Pole in the winter. When the days start to get longer the Earth has moved along its orbit and the pole isn’t completely tilted away from the Sun. The polar night begins in the north of Finland at earliest in September. For example, in Nuorgam it begins around the 24th of November and finishes around the 18th of January. Effects of the Polar Night can be depression, sleeping problems, over eating (especially sweets), memory problems, indifference, and grumpiness. People even take medicine to prevent this from happening. By: Kiia Paanila & Minja Bovellan, Nerissa Shakespeare & Salla Nicholls