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Midnight sun & Polar night

The Canadian Arctic experiences two annual events that only occurs in this portion of the country — Midnight sun & Polar night.  The summer solstice, that being the longest day of the year creates an episode where the sun does not set at any location north of the Arctic Circle (midnight sun).  The winter solstice, that being the shortest day of the year creates an episode where the sun does not raise at any location north of the Arctic Circle (Polar night).  These celestial events occur respectively between June 21st or 22nd and December 21st or 22nd; the reasoning why the dates varies slightly is due to the fact that the Earth’s yearly rotation around the sun is slightly longer then 365 days (approx. 6 hours) and requires a leap-year (as seen in 2008) every four years to make-up for the additional time.

Midnight Sun – Baffin Island (long-exposure photograph).
Credit: National Geographic