Why Do Some Countries Experience Six Months of Daylight or Darkness?
Regions close to the North and South Poles can experience long periods of continuous daylight or darkness because Earth’s axis is tilted by approximately 23.5 degrees. As Earth orbits the Sun, one polar region tilts toward the Sun while the other tilts away from it.
During the Arctic summer, the Sun may remain above the horizon for 24 hours a day in locations within the Arctic Circle. This is known as the midnight sun. During winter, some of the same places experience polar night, when the Sun does not rise above the horizon for an extended period.
The duration depends on latitude: the closer a location is to a pole, the longer these periods can last. At the geographic poles, daylight and darkness each last roughly six months, although twilight and atmospheric effects complicate the exact experience. These phenomena result from Earth’s axial tilt, not from changes in its distance from the Sun.
