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Sun sets for last time in 2020 in this Alaskan town, will rise again in 2021
Official Twitter account for the National Weather Service Fairbanks took to Twitter to share the news.
Have you heard about Utqiaġvik, the United States’ northernmost town? Located in Alaska, previously called Barrow, this is a place where the sun sat at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Wondering why that is worth a mention? It’s because the residents of this place will not see the sun gracing the sky again until January next year.
Did that surprise you? Turns out, this, however, is not something uncommon. Rather it’s a normal phenomenon that happens every year in this Alaskan town and is known as the ‘polar night.’ This is caused by Earth’s rotation to the position of the sun, reports Fox News.
“Because the Northern Hemisphere tilts away from the sun in the fall and winter, areas north of the Arctic Circle – within 23.5 degrees of the North Pole – experience more than two months when the sun never pops above the horizon,” reported The Weather Channel, cited Fox News.
Official Twitter account for the National Weather Service Fairbanks took to Twitter to share the news. “At 1:30pm AKST this afternoon, the sun will set and Utqiaġvik will enter a 66 day period of polar night. The sun will rise again on January 23rd, 2021,” they wrote.
They also shared a follow-up tweet as a correction that the sun will again be seen on January 22, 2021.
The post prompted people to share various reactions. While some expressed their desire to visit the place, others were surprised.
“I want to go to Barrow someday. I keep putting it off. I just want to be on top of the world. I cannot pronounce its new name, but I know it is native,” wrote a Twitter user. “Would not mind going there one day also and it’ll always be called Barrow to me,” shared another.
Some also took a humorous approach while commenting.
However, there will not be complete darkness during this period, according to meteorologist Danielle Banks of The Weather Channel, cited USA Today. The residents will get enough lights to see outside. Technically, however, they have seen the last sunset of 2020.
Would you like to live in this place during polar night?
