Utqiagvik town in Alaska would only see a sunrise when Donald Trump will take over as the US president. As much as it might sound figurative in nature, it’s literally the case as the town enters polar night and sun wouldn’t rise above the horizon for 64 days!
Nearly 5,000 residents of Utqiagvik, previously known as Barrow, would witness their last sunrise on November 18.
Located on Alaska’s North Slope along the Arctic Ocean, it lies at a latitude of 71.17 degrees North, roughly 330 miles above the Arctic Circle. This extreme location means that for about two months each year, the sun remains below the horizon, resulting in an extended polar night, the Washington Post reported.
What causes polar night?
The polar night happens because of the Earth’s tilt on its axis, which is about 23.5 degrees. Because of this tilt, some places on Earth, like the Arctic Circle (the very top of the world), get either no sunlight or all the sunlight for a long time during the year.
When the Arctic Circle is tilted away from the sun, it stays dark for a long time, and that’s called the polar night. But when it’s tilted toward the sun, it stays sunny even at night—that’s called the midnight sun.