Imagine sitting in your office or classroom in the middle of the day. And you look out the window and the street lights are on because it’s practically dark.
Or maybe it’s the middle of the night and you’re trying to sleep. But you just lie awake in your bed because the sunlight is shining outside your window.
You are in Alaska
Alaska, a constituent state of the United States of America. It was admitted to the Union on 3 January 1959 as the 49th state.
Alaska is located in the extreme northwest of the North American continent. And the Alaska Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the Western Hemisphere.
Because the 180th meridian passes through the state’s Aleutian Islands, the western part of Alaska is in the Eastern Hemisphere.
Thus, technically, Alaska is in both hemispheres. Alaska is bordered by the Beaufort Sea and the Arctic Ocean to the north, Canada’s Yukon Territory and British Columbia province to the east, the Gulf of Alaska and the Pacific Ocean to the south, and the Bering Strait and Bering Sea to the west. Chukchi Sea in the northwest.
The capital is Juneau, located in the southeast, in the Panhandle region.
What is Alaska famous for?
For about two months around December winter, the sun barely peeks above the horizon in Alaska. In fact, America’s northernmost city — Utqiavik, Alaska, formerly known as Barrow — experiences continuous darkness from mid-November to late January because the sun never rises during that 60-plus day period.
But in the months surrounding the June summer solstice, the sun barely dips below the horizon in Alaska. So darkness never fully sets — think of it as dusk that stretches until dawn. And the residents of Utqiaġvik don’t even see a sunset for more than 80 days. From early May to early August, so if you’re hoping to catch a nighttime fireworks display. This is not the best destination.
Early summer in Alaska
In Anchorage, Alaska, on the summer solstice—the longest day of the year—the sun rises at 4:20 a.m. and sets at 11:42 p.m. Now you may be wondering how that translates to 24 hours of daylight when the sun is below the horizon for 4 hours and 38 minutes.
“During our ‘night’ period in the summer, the most darkness we get is civil twilight. Which is the lightest form of twilight,” said Eric Drawitz. Who is meteorologist and assistant science and operations officer at the National Weather Service’s office in Anchorage, Alaska.
Early winter in Alaska
On the winter solstice—the shortest day of the year—the sun rises at anchorage at 10:14 a.m. and does not set until 5.5 hours later at 3:41 p.m.
Solar noon sun angle? Only 5.5 degrees above the horizon.
“When the maximum solar noon sun angle is 5 degrees above the horizon or less, the sun provides no thermal heat for the day,” Drevitz said.
No wonder winters are so cold in America’s 49th state.
For comparison, New York City sees a sun angle of 25.9 degrees at noon on the first day of winter, with a less depressing 9 hours and 15 minutes of daylight.
In fact, just 40 minutes after sunrise, the sun is already higher in the Big Apple sky than it has been in Anchorage all day.
How to cope extreme weather in daylight
“In the summer, Alaskans like to have blackout curtains and sleeping masks,” Drevitz said.
“They help keep the room dark.There’s only one problem, since indoor temperatures can get so hot in the summer, if you don’t have air conditioning, you need outside air flow to make it more bearable.”
“Yes, blackout curtains are necessary for many people,” said Alaska-based climatologist Dr. Brian Bretschneider.
“On hot days though, you need to keep the windows open and the fans running to cool the house down at night – which means no curtains.”
In general, though, most Alaskans really enjoy long summer days. And why wouldn’t they? “Alaskans almost universally love the long summer days. Imagine fishing at midnight, or playing basketball at 11 p.m., or hiking at midnight?” Brettschneider said.
“The only complaints you’ll hear are that it doesn’t last long enough.”
On the other hand, winter is a different story. Although Alaskans aren’t usually bothered by snow or very cold temperatures, the darkness of winter is hard to beat every year.
“The darkness of winter has a negative effect on many people,” Brettschneider explained.
“In cities, the reflection of street lights from snow cover makes a huge difference in the psyche of residents.”
How to cope seasonal affective disorder as winter approaches
Taking vitamin D in the winter is especially important because the human body produces less when it’s not exposed to sunlight, Drewitz said.
This is especially true in northern Alaska such as Utqiaġvik, where the twilight is at its lightest for about 60 days because the sun does not rise above the horizon from mid-November until late January.
Some people use happy lights — also called light therapy lamps — to help lighten the mood on a cold, dark winter’s day, Drevitz said, adding that evening often feels like midnight.
Because it has been dark for a long time. The sun is barely above the horizon at noon on the winter solstice, as seen from the summit of Flattop Mountain just east of Anchorage, Alaska.
“Few people celebrate the lack of days (of daylight) in winter and instead count down the days until ‘normal’ daylight returns,” Brettschneider said.
Speaking of which, fall and spring in Alaska are the most similar to the rest of the United States in terms of daylight, so there are periods each year when Alaska’s day length is “normal.”
“On Samodo, everywhere on Earth experiences 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness,” Drewitz said.
“Because of this, our sunrise and sunset times are as normal as the lower 48.”