Midnight Sun in the Arctic: Where and When the Sun Never Sets

It is a minute past midnight in Longyearbyen, and the painted wooden houses of Svalbard glow in full sunshine. North of the Arctic Circle, summer brings the midnight sun: weeks or even months when the Sun circles the sky without ever dropping below the horizon. From Norway and Finland to Iceland and Alaska, these photographs show what the brightest nights on Earth look like.

Why the Sun never sets above the Arctic Circle

Earth's axis is tilted by about 23.4 degrees. Around the June solstice the Northern Hemisphere leans towards the Sun, so the far north stays on the lit side of the planet through a whole rotation. NASA's guide to the seasons explains the same geometry that gives us summer and winter.

The Arctic Circle marks the southern edge of this effect. It runs at about 66°34′ N and creeps north by roughly 14.5 metres a year as the tilt of Earth's axis slowly changes. On the circle itself the Sun stays up for about one night at midsummer. The farther north you go, the longer the season lasts: a few weeks in northern Finland and Norway, four months in Svalbard. Refraction in the atmosphere lifts the Sun's image slightly, so at sea level a sliver of midnight sun can be seen up to about 90 km south of the line.

The circle crosses eight countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, the United States (Alaska), Canada, Greenland (Denmark) and Iceland, where it touches only the small island of Grímsey.

Midnight sun dates in Norway, Finland and Svalbard

Northern Norway is the easiest place in Europe to see the midnight sun, with a long coast, good roads and the Hurtigruten coastal ships. Approximate dates, assuming a clear view to the north:

• Bodø: 31 May to 12 July
• Svolvær, Lofoten: 25 May to 18 July
• Tromsø: 18 May to 25 July
• North Cape (Nordkapp): 12 May to 31 July
• Longyearbyen, Svalbard: 19 April to 24 August

In Finland, Rovaniemi sits right on the Arctic Circle and gets around 15 nightless days, while Utsjoki, the country's northernmost municipality, enjoys about 70 days of continuous sun. Finns celebrate Midsummer, juhannus, on the weekend closest to 24 June with lakeside bonfires and saunas, and in Helsinki the white nights last from mid-June to mid-July.

Iceland and Alaska: bright nights just south of the circle

Reykjavík lies at 64° N, just south of the Arctic Circle. In June the Sun dips below the horizon for only a short time around midnight, and the sky never becomes fully dark. Visit Iceland describes Icelandic nights from mid-May to mid-July as a long twilight. For true midnight sun, travellers head to Grímsey, about 40 km off the north coast, where the island holds a Summer Solstice Festival around 20 to 22 June.

Denali National Park in Alaska sits around 63° N, a few degrees short of the circle. Here, too, early-summer nights are bright enough that campers rarely need a torch.

Polar night and celebrating the return of the sun

The same tilt works in reverse in winter. In Longyearbyen the polar night runs from about 27 October to 15 February, when the Sun stays below the horizon all day. Around midday there is still a blue twilight for much of that period, but in the depths of December and January the town lives under lamps and stars, and the aurora becomes the main show.

That is why the return of the light is celebrated across the north. Longyearbyen holds Solfestuka, its Sun Festival Week, around 8 March, when sunlight first reaches most of the town again, Finland and Sweden throw their biggest parties at Midsummer, and towns such as Inuvik in Canada's Northwest Territories hold a Midnight Sun Fun Run.

Tips for seeing the midnight sun

• Pick a north-facing view. The Sun is lowest due north at around 1 am local summer time in Norway, so a beach, headland or summit facing the open sea gives the classic shot.
• Go north for longer seasons. Lofoten, Tromsø and the North Cape all have several weeks of midnight sun; Svalbard has four months.
• Use the night. Hiking, kayaking and golf after midnight are normal summer pastimes in the Arctic, and the light is soft and golden.
• Bring an eye mask. Most hotels have blackout curtains, but a mask helps in tents and cabins.
• Pack layers. Even in July, nights on the northern Norwegian coast are cool, and in Svalbard they can be close to freezing.

Plan more of a trip north with our Norwegian places to visit, or look back at Earth from orbit in ISS Symphony.

Related reading

• Svalbard: Arctic Seasons, Settlements and Coastal Landscapes
• The Arctic Light: Lofoten’s Long Spring Twilight
• Niccolò Bonfadini’s Sentinels of the Arctic in Finnish Lapland
• Svalbard Global Seed Vault: What the Arctic Backup Actually Does

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