Barrow, Alaska, Sees Last Sunset For Next 83 Days

The U.S. Town That Saw Its Last Sunset Until August

Early Saturday morning, the sun set briefly in Barrow, Alaska, something that won't be seen there again in more than two months.

At 2:12 a.m. ADT Saturday, America's northernmost city, more recently known as Utqiagvik, saw the sun set for the last time until Aug. 2, ushering in an 83-day period during which areas north of the Arctic Circle never see the sun dip below the horizon.

During the northern hemisphere's spring and summer, the sun's most direct rays shine over areas between the equator and Tropic of Cancer, about 23.5 degrees north latitude.

Because the northern hemisphere tilts toward the sun in the spring and summer, areas north of the Arctic Circle – within 23.5 degrees of the North Pole – experience more than two months with the sun never dipping below the horizon, evoking the popular phrase "Land of the Midnight Sun."

(MORE: How Alaskans Cope with Two Months of All-Day Daylight)

From mid-November through late January, the sun doesn't rise north of the Arctic Circle, due to the tilt of the Earth away from the sun's most direct radiation.

The opposite of this occurs from mid-November through late January, when the sun doesn't rise for roughly two months north of the Arctic Circle. In Barrow, this polar night will occur with the last sunset Nov. 19 until the sun pops above the horizon again Jan. 23.

It is a common misconception that Barrow and areas north of the Arctic Circle are completely dark during this period.

Civil twilight, defined as the point when the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon, allows sufficient light to see objects outside. This civil twilight period is about six hours long near the beginning and ending of polar night, but shrinks to about three hours in the heart of the polar night just before Christmas.