December 3, 2023 is the last day of this year. Residents of the city of Utqiavik (formerly known as Barrow) in Alaska, USA will officially witness the sunset, and since then, this small city on the northern tip of the world will have a long period approaching two months where the sun will not appear in their sky.
Utkiewik is the northernmost small city in the United States. In the Arctic every year there is a period of day and night darkness, or polar nights, referring to the condition of places that do not receive sunlight for more than 24 consecutive hours, or simply described as always being in a state of sunset.
The University of Alaska Fairbanks has opened a channel to broadcast scenes from CCTV cameras. To know the state of the city without the sun 24 hours a day on the website Utqiaġvik Sea Ice webcam For people around the world to see The camera rating is 20 meters above sea level. The camera faces north.
The polar night is an annual phenomenon in this region. It comes from the fact that the sun is lower than the horizon. This is due to the tilt of the Earth’s axis after the end of the polar night. The time when there is sunlight during the day will gradually become longer and longer until summer, the season in which the city will fall into another form opposite to the polar night, called the midnight sun (midnight sun) because you will see the sun 24 hours a day.
However, Utkiwik has a population of over 5,000 and is not always in the dark during the polar night. There will be times when the lights are dim, which is a real factor that makes residents not want to leave their homes during this period. The cold temperature is -12°C.
As predicted, Utkiwik will witness sunrise again next year on January 23, 2024 at approximately 1:09 pm local time. City residents will see the sun for about an hour, meaning the city will have a total sunless period of 51 days.
source: ladbible.com
Image source: University of Alaska Fairbanks
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