the sun never rises or sets?

Question

Are there places where the Sun never sets or the Sun never rises? if so,where and when are they?

Answer 1

Due to the tilt of the earth on its axis, in the northern hemisphere, above the Arctic Circle during the the summer the days get longer and longer until the sun never goes down, it does dip toward the horizon and then rises back up in a sine wave. Then at the summer solstice the days begin to shorten.

Above the Arctic circle during during the winter in the northern hemisphere days get shorter and shorter until the sun never rises above the horizon and it is dark 24 hours a day, then at the winter solstice the days begin to get longer.

The exact opposite happens below the Antarctic circle in the southern hemisphere, darkness in the summer and light in the winter.

the Arctic circle and Antarctic circle are circles parallel to the equator around the globe where when you are closer to the pole than the circle this phenomenon happens. Outside the circles the days may get really short and really long, but the sun will always go up and down every day.

Answer 2

The sun rises and sets at least once per year on every place on the earth's surface.

On Sept. 21 and March 21, every place on earth has the same amount of daylight, and therefore the north and south poles have a "normal" cycle of day and night.

On June 21, every place on the Arctic Circle (66° 40'N) has 24 hours of daylight, and the further north you go from there, the more consecutive days of total daylight you have. On December 21, every place on the Antarctic Circle (66° 40'S) has 24 hours of daylight.

In polar regions in March and September, the cycle of day and night is very similar to what you would experience closer to the equator, except perhaps the periods of twilight last a bit longer. On June 21 (or near June 21, depending on your latitude), the sun makes a broad low circle in the sky; at noon it will be in the southern sky and at midnight it will actually be in the northern sky close to the horizon (again depending on the date and your location). On December 21, on the Arctic Circle, the sun will not be visible at all, but there will be some "twilight" due to refraction in the atmosphere. Either side of Dec 21, and again exactly on the Arctic Circle, the sun will barely be above the horizon for a few minutes due south of your location.

Every spot on earth between the Antarctic Circle and the Arctic Circle will have exactly 365 sunsets and 365 sunrises in a non leap year. Places south or north, respectively, of those circles, will have less than 365 sunrises and sunsets, but it will certainly be more than one.

At exactly 90° north or south latitude it could be argued that there is only one sunrise and one sunset per year, but due to refraction in the atmosphere the apparent effect will be a more normal sunrise and sunset cycle.

Just look at any globe or map of the world, and look for places north of the Arctic Circle and south of the Antarctic Circle. It will be easy to see the places you need, and you will see Alaska, Yukon, northern Canada, Greenland, Norway, Sweden, many parts of northern Russia, and the Antarctic.

Remember that the earth's rotational axis is tilted at about 23.5° relative to the plane of rotation around the sun. If you can imagine that in 3D, then it is easier to visualize the significance of the Arctic and Antarctic Circles, and why there is one sunrise and sunset at the Poles, 365 at the two Circles, and a number between 1 and 365 in between.

Answer 3

Due to the angle of the earth's axis the sun does not set (go below the horizon) at the north pole during summer in the northern hemisphere or at the south pole durring summer in the southern hemisphere. In fact it extends as far south as the Arctis circle in the north. Here is a proper definition The Arctic Circle marks the southern extremity of the polar day (24 hour sunlit day, often referred to as the "midnight sun") and polar night (24 hour sunless night). North of the Arctic Circle, the sun is above the horizon for 24 continuous hours at least once per year, and below the horizon for 24 continuous hours at least once per year. On the Arctic Circle these events occur, in principle, exactly once per year, at the June and December solstices respectively. It is called the Arctic because it is corresponds to the southernmost point of the Constellation Ursa Major (the Great Bear or Megas Arktos in Greek).

Answer 4

Sure, at some times of the year at the poles.

Answer 5

At the poles.

Answer 6

in the winter, at the poles