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From a scientific point of view, the sun shines on us continuously during the day. Even if it’s behind the clouds. But we are waiting for truly bright sunlight, which brings us back to life and brings cheerfulness.
But residents of some cities in the world have already got used to not waiting for the sun, but to rejoice at his unexpected appearance as a holiday. What to do if cities are located in places where nature did not provide many sunny days. But it has its own special charm, and not to say that it is always gloomy.
Yes, London is a very “associative” city when it comes to cloudy weather, but in the rough ranking of “gloomy” cities it is the lightest. Not to say that it rains more often in the capital of Great Britain than in Europe as a whole, but clouds do not ignore this city. But if nature has given several sunny days one after another, this is a chance for tourists to see vibrant London.
Juneau, USA
Sees the sun approximately 67 days a year
How can the sunny capital of Alaska itself be? Therefore, residents of the largest capital among the states of America resigned themselves to fate. It is paradoxical that the city is considered large, but the city itself is very small. More than 90% of the total area is occupied by wild nature - mountains and forest in their original form. Add to this the lack of bright sunlight and we will understand why there are so few people here.
Cologne, Germany
Sees the sun approximately 65 days a year
Cologne is a very status city for Germany. This is a large and ancient cultural center. Gothic architecture, famous museums, a unique cathedral, exhibitions, conferences, carnivals - this is a very active and noisy city. He has few shortcomings. Just like the sun.
Birmingham, UK
Sees the sun approximately 62 days a year
“White Bird” - this is how the name of the city is translated - a slightly magical place. It has always been associated with legends about alchemists, because local residents have been involved in the mining industry for centuries, and it is there, somewhere in the depths of the earth, that the philosopher’s stone awaits. The “secret of darkness” of Kiruna is that it is very close to the Arctic Circle. Therefore, the sun here is on schedule - from May to July, and then twilight gets closer and closer until it turns into the polar night.
Reykjavik, Iceland
Sees the sun approximately 55 days a year
The harsh Bering Island is where this gloomy village is located. Sunlight here is an amazing and rare phenomenon, but otherwise the life of the 700 residents who live there is not too different from the life of people in other Russian outbacks. In addition, the village even has its own airport for connections with major cities of Kamchatka. Nikolskoye is the only place in Russia where the rare Aleut people live compactly. They are natives of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, and it is not surprising that the cloudy climate does not particularly bother them.
A person knows how to adapt to absolutely any conditions. Snow, heat, predatory animals, stones from the sky - some African tribes manage to live practically in the mouth of a volcano. That is why talk about quick flights to Mars should be taken quite seriously: if we are able to live in Siberia, then we can cope on some kind of Mars even more so. The hardest thing modern man tolerates lack of sunlight. Depression, nervous disorders and constant stress develop instantly. However, there are quite lively cities on Earth where the Sun only occasionally appears. Here is the official ranking of the darkest settlements on the planet, whose residents are already accustomed to constant twilight.
Murmansk, Russia
Hours of sunshine per year: 1715 Murmansk is considered the largest city in the world, located above the Arctic Circle. However, the weather here is not as bad as it might seem. In winter, the temperature can easily warm up to -10 degrees Celsius - a quite comfortable level. But a night that lasts several months a year can become a real problem for an unprepared psyche. During this period, the sun does not appear at all, filling even the daytime hours with constant darkness.
Kiruna, Sweden
Hours of sunshine per year: 1680 The name of the city can be translated as “white bird” - it is also depicted on the local coat of arms. We are talking about alchemy here: local residents have always been involved in the mining industry, which in the Middle Ages was inextricably linked with alchemical workshops. Kiruna is located one hundred and fifty kilometers north of the Arctic Circle. The sun appears only for a short period from May 30 to July 15; the rest of the time, city residents are forced to put up with constant twilight, turning into the polar night in winter.
Yuzhno-Kurilsk, Russia
Hours of sunshine per year: 1662 The local population is almost entirely employed in the extraction and processing of marine resources. The end of the 90s passed here in constant anticipation of change: talk about the transfer of the Kuril Islands to Japan was very loud at that time. But we, as you know, will not give up an inch of our land to the enemy - Yuzhno-Kurilsk, with all its fog, cold and eternal night, will not fall to the Japanese for anything.
Juneau, USA
Hours of sunshine per year: 1,540 Juneau is considered the largest state capital in all of America. Formally, the city's territory occupies as much as 8,430 square kilometers. In fact, 99% of the area is wild, forested mountains, without any signs of civilization. The picture is complemented by the almost complete absence of sunlight, which can lead to depression and a cave troll.
Cologne, Germany
Hours of sunshine per year: 1504 The second, semi-official name of Cologne is Metropolis on the Rhine, which reflects the truly high status of the city, the largest and oldest cultural center of the entire country. Apart from the lack of sun, there is simply nothing to reproach Cologne for.
Birmingham, UK
Hours of sunshine per year: 1364 Two million people live in Birmingham, England's second largest city. The local climate here is average for the country - soft and humid, there are practically no sharp transitions. There is also no bright sunlight here, which the locals have long been accustomed to.
Prince Rupert, British Columbia
Hours of sunshine per year: 1230 The entire northern part of the Pacific Ocean is famous for its inhospitable, rainy and gloomy weather, seasoned with constant fog. The port town of Prince Rupert looks like a real alien from Lovecraft's dark fantasies - why people still cling to this place where Cthulhu is about to appear from the water is completely incomprehensible.
Nikolskoye, Russia
Hours of sunshine per year: 992 Nikolskoye remains the only populated area in the entire, rather large Aleutian region. Only here can you meet the most real Aleuts: besides them, almost no one is able to survive in local conditions. A sunny day here is a rare and amazing phenomenon.
Torshavn, Denmark
Hours of sunshine per year: 884 The capital of the autonomous Faroe Islands is located on the east coast of the island of Streymoy. Tórshavn is officially considered the cloudiest settlement in the world: solar panels will not come here any time soon. Nevertheless, local residents are quite happy with their city - the standard of living in Tórshavn is very significant.
Jan Mayen, Norway
Hours of sunshine per year: 823 And the title of the darkest city on the planet solemnly goes to the Norwegian Jan Mayen. Strictly speaking, this place does not reach the level of a normal city - the entire population consists of service personnel of several large government stations.
Moscow, Russia
Hours of sunshine per year: depending on your luck. And a small bonus from the heart - we simply could not ignore Moscow. The capital of our country can hardly be called a friendly and bright city: local residents have almost every chance to enjoy the sunshine only in late spring and summer.At the end of June, in the polar latitudes you can observe white nights, during which natural illumination decreases only until twilight. At this time, the Sun's descent below the horizon, even at midnight, is small, and evening twilight turns into morning twilight without the onset of complete darkness. Such white nights are called “polar days.”
Saint Petersburg, White Night. Photo: www.russianlook.com
Why do white nights occur?
White nights are caused by a combination of our planet's tilt angle and its orbital position relative to the Sun. For this reason, in the northern and southern latitudes of our planet, the Sun may not set beyond the horizon at all for some time. During white nights, the Sun descends to the horizon, but no more than 6 degrees.
Depending on the position of the Sun relative to the horizon, civil, navigational and astronomical twilight are distinguished. Civil twilight lasts from the moment of visible sunset until the time when the angle between the horizon line and the center of the solar disk is 6°, from 6° to 12° - navigational twilight, from 12° to 18° - astronomical twilight.
In latitudes above the Arctic Circle, white nights are also observed during two - four weeks before the polar day and after it ends. In latitudes below the Arctic Circle, where there is no polar day, white nights are observed during the solstice, as well as before and after it, for a greater number of nights, the higher the latitude of the area.
The southern border of the white nights zone lies at latitude 49 degrees (geographic coordinates of Moscow: 55.45 degrees north latitude, St. Petersburg - 59.9 degrees north latitude). There are no white nights from the equator, which has a latitude of 0 degrees, to the parallel of 49 degrees.
Where in Russia can you see white nights?
Residents of Moscow can see white nights, but in the capital they are not as bright as in other cities. For almost three months from May 12 to August 1, the Sun does not completely set in Yakutia.
In Volgograd and Rostov regions(they are at latitude 49 degrees) one white night occurs (June 22). And higher to the north the white nights become lighter and longer. The polar day can be observed in Murmansk, Norilsk, Vorkuta, Cherepovets, Vologda, Berezniki, Magadan, Megion, Khanty-Mansiysk, Kotlas, Nizhnevartovsk, Nefteyugansk, Surgut, Syktyvkar, Petrozavodsk, Yakutsk, Ukhta, Noyabrsk, Nadym, Arkhangelsk, Severodvinsk.
An amazing natural phenomenon can be observed in St. Petersburg. The period of white nights lasts from June 11 to July 2. At this time, various folk celebrations, concerts, holidays and festivals take place in the city.
Every day we observe various atmospheric phenomena. Most often we do not think about their features and nature. But it’s worth taking a closer look around - and we will notice that many of these phenomena are much more interesting than they seem at first glance. One clear example is twilight.
What is twilight? This definition refers to two time periods:
- the period of time between apparent sunset and nightfall;
- the period between night and visible sunrise.
So, we have answered the question of what twilight is. But it turns out that they are divided into three types:
- civil;
- navigation;
- astronomical.
In this article we will talk in detail about the features of each type of twilight.
Civil twilight
From the image above you can learn about Blue Hour and Golden Hour.
Civil twilight begins when the Sun sets and ends when its center has dropped 6 degrees below the horizon. This type of twilight is the lightest. For this reason, small stars cannot be distinguished in the sky. But under favorable atmospheric conditions, the brightest celestial bodies can be observed. So, in cloudless weather during civil twilight, you can see Venus in the sky without using optical instruments.
During this period of time, you can see all ground objects almost as well as in the daytime. Therefore, in the morning civil twilight you can begin, and in the evening, complete work carried out in the open air. By the way, that’s why they are called civilian - at this time you can see well without additional lighting.
In some latitudes, civil twilight can last throughout the night. In other words, evening twilight gradually turns into morning twilight instead of night. This phenomenon is usually called white nights. On the territory of Russia they can be observed in St. Petersburg, Perm, Yakutsk, Vorkuta and a number of other cities.
Navigational twilight
After the end of evening civil twilight, the time of navigational twilight comes. They can also be observed before the onset of morning civil twilight.
During this period, the center of the Sun is located 6-12 degrees below the horizon. During navigational twilight, vague outlines of ground objects can be distinguished. However, without artificial lighting it is not possible to see their details. During this period, it is impossible to distinguish the colors of objects. For these reasons, field work without the use of lighting devices is not carried out in such conditions.
But during this period of time you can see all the navigation stars. At the same time, the horizon line is visible. This allows navigators to navigate in space using a sextant, measuring the angles between the horizon and the stars - therefore, twilight is “navigational.”
The military often launches attacks during navigational twilight. This is due to the fact that during this period it is most difficult for the enemy to detect them.
Astronomical twilight
Astronomical twilight is the period of time when the center of the Sun is 12-18 degrees below the horizon. With their onset, astronomers can begin observing most celestial objects. During this period, not only large planets and stars are clearly visible, but also small luminaries. However, objects with a particularly weak and diffuse glow can only be seen on astronomical nights.
However, the difference between night and astronomical twilight is clear only to those who specialize in the study of celestial bodies. For an ordinary observer, the transition from astronomical twilight to night is completely invisible. In other words, they are perceived as part of the night.
We hope that in this article you found a detailed answer to the question of what twilight is. It remains only to note that the duration of twilight in general and each period in particular varies greatly, depending on the latitude at which they are observed.
And, not letting the darkness of the night
To golden skies
One dawn gives way to another
He hurries, giving the night half an hour.
A.S. Pushkin "The Bronze Horseman"
Many people try to get to St. Petersburg at the end of July to see the famous white nights, about which they talk and write a lot. White nights are a symbol of St. Petersburg, but this amazing natural phenomenon can be observed in Kazan, Arkhangelsk, Kirov, Samara, Pskov, and Syktyvkar.
Why are the nights as bright as days in some parts of the Earth?
We know that day turns into night due to the movement of our Earth. Night comes when the Sun, in relation to a certain area of the earth's surface, is below the horizon and there is not enough light. That's why it's dark at night.
The duration of the night period depends on the latitude of the location of a point on the earth's surface, the inclination of the planet's rotation axis relative to the plane of its orbit, and the angle formed by the rotation axis and the direction to the central body is also important.
White nights are nights in which natural illumination is reduced only until twilight. The sun does not set below the horizon at all, and we see a bright sky all day long. Such white nights are called “polar days”.
The Earth's axis is tilted, so the Sun illuminates our planet in different ways: in winter, the sun's rays do not reach the North, and in summer, a huge amount of heat and light is shed on us. In science, white nights are “civil twilight” - the period from the setting of the upper edge of the solar disk beyond the horizon until the sun’s descent below the horizon does not exceed several degrees. It happens that the Sun sinks just a little below the horizon at night (does not have time to completely descend), night smoothly turns into day without the onset of darkness. On the days of the summer solstice, the sun does not fall below the horizon at all, and at latitudes above 65º the entire northern polar region is illuminated - the polar day. And when the sun does not go down beyond the Arctic Circle for a long time, rays of scattered sunlight reach the subpolar regions.
There are no white nights from the equator to latitude 49º, but above 49º there is a “white night zone”. In the Volgograd and Rostov regions (they are located at latitude 49º) there is one white night per year (June 22). And higher up, to the north, the white nights become lighter and longer.
Muscovites can also experience white nights, but here they are not as bright as in other cities. For almost three months from May 12 to August 1, the sun does not set in Yakutia. White nights can be seen in the following cities: Murmansk, Norilsk, Vorkuta, Cherepovets, Vologda, Berezniki, Magadan, Megion, Khanty-Mansiysk, Kotlas, Nizhnevartovsk, Nefteyugansk, Surgut, Syktyvkar, Petrozavodsk, Yakutsk, Ukhta, Noyabrsk, Nadym, Arkhangelsk, Severodvinsk.
Throughout Iceland, Finland, Greenland and Antarctica, you can enjoy white nights at certain times, as do parts of Sweden, Canada, Norway, Estonia, Great Britain and Alaska.
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