Well, it depends on where you are in Alaska. The shortened days of sunlight are caused by changes in the angle at which the sun's rays hit the earth as the earth rotates around the sun.
I am in Juneau (latitude 58.37 north, longitude 134.58 west), down in the southeastern part of Alaska. Here, on the summer solstice (about June 21st), we get about 18 hours of daylight. Then, we start losing about 5-10 minutes of daylight per day until we get to the winter solstice (about December 21st). On the winter solstice, we get about 6 hours of daylight. Then, we start gaining 5-10 minutes of daylight per day until we get to the summer solstice and the cycle starts over again.
Farther north, the differences are even greater. In Barrow (latitude 71.30 north, longitude 156.78 west), at the northern tip of Alaska, it really is the "Land of the Midnight Sun". Near the summer solstice, from about May 10th to August 2nd, the sun never sets. And near the winter solstice, from about November 18th to January 23rd, the sun never rises. At other times of the year, Barrow gains or loses daylight just like Juneau does.
Those are the two extremes. The rest of Alaska is somewhere between those two. For example, Fairbanks, in the middle of the state, gets about 20 hours of daylight on the summer solstice and about 4 hours of daylight on the winter solstice.
========================================================
Another contributor contributed another way to look at it:
Anyplace on earth that's farther north than the Arctic Circle, or farther south than the
Antarctic Circle, has at least one day a year when the sun doesn't rise, and at least
one day a year when the sun doesn't set. The closer you get to the poles, the longer
these annual periods of no sunrise and no sunset get.
Most of Alaska is south of the Arctic Circle, and has a sunrise and sunset every day of
the year. The Arctic Circle crosses Alaska on the line roughly through Shishmaref, Allakaket,
and Fort Yukon. North of that line is where you can have 24 hours without a sunrise
or 24 hours without a sunset.
Depends on where you are in Alaska. It is a VERY big state- the further North you travel, the greater the seasonal changes in daylight length. During winter months, the length of daylight becomes shorter and shorter. In Summer, days become longer and longer. If you are far enough North, during June it is light 24 hours, during winter, dark all day. But there IS no 6 month day and 6 month night.
In some of the very northernmost parts of Alaska the sun never sets for as much as 30 days in a row in the summer, so it is daylight all the time. In the winter the opposite is true, and there are very long periods where the sun never rises and it remains dark.
how many hours of sunlight are in Alaska . depends on time of year, the sun can be seen for 24 hours at certain times during summer.. see link http://www.gi.Alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF6/693.HTML
That depends on the time of the year. For any position within the polar circles, there will be a time of the year when the Sun doesn't rise, and another time of the year when the Sun doesn't set.
That depends on the time of the year. For any position within the polar circles, there will be a time of the year when the Sun doesn't rise, and another time of the year when the Sun doesn't set.
That depends on the time of the year. For any position within the polar circles, there will be a time of the year when the Sun doesn't rise, and another time of the year when the Sun doesn't set.
That depends on the time of the year. For any position within the polar circles, there will be a time of the year when the Sun doesn't rise, and another time of the year when the Sun doesn't set.
June is when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted the furthest toward the sun. If you can imagine the Earth, a sphere, rotating as the "top" half is tilted in the direction of the sun, you might notice that the highest latitudes (near the top of the sphere) will receive the most sunlight, while the latitudes near the South Pole will receive the least. However, the sun remains low in the sky, so the amount of radiation that reaches the surface is actually relatively small.
Take a look at the animation in the related link. That may help visualize it.
That depends on the time of the year. For any position within the polar circles, there will be a time of the year when the Sun doesn't rise, and another time of the year when the Sun doesn't set.
Yes it does, I watched discovery channel and some parts of the year it is light 24/7.
alaska near north pole
Is that a for real question? I don't think so, for if the sun didn't set on the 17th then it wouldn't set on the 18th either.
1st of all, it does move, but that doesnt cause sunricse and sunset. second of all, it is a result of the earths rotation.
Yes. But it's not only in Alaska. The sun will remain over the horizon for all of the Earth that's north of the Arctic Circle for a few summer weeks. It's the flip side of not having any sun at all for a period of winter. Likewise on the Southern hemisphere, Everything South of the Antarctic circle will have continuous sun for a few weeks during their summer.
The day of the summer solstice, normally reckoned as June 21.
yes...in Alaska
yes, Alaska
In Alaska there are two sun rises, because of how it sits on the Earth.
Yes. Juneau is well south of the Arctic Circle, so they do not get "midnight sun" in any season.
In the winter in Alaska, the sun rises later in the morning compared to other times of the year. This is due to the tilt of the Earth's axis and its position in relation to the sun during that time. Typically, in places like Alaska, the sun rises around late morning or early afternoon during the winter months.
alaska near north pole
At the poles themselves, the sun only rises once and sets once, ... For instance , in Fairbanks, Alaska, which is located south of the Arctic Circle, the sun sets at 12:47 a.m.so the answer is YES
It doesnt seem to it just does because the Earth rotates from West to East.
Is that a for real question? I don't think so, for if the sun didn't set on the 17th then it wouldn't set on the 18th either.
Depending on the time of year the sun will set a different times. In the summertime the sun sets around 11:00 P.M.
Where the sun shines it is referred to as daytime. However, this is not true in some areas of the world which have light for 24 hours over many months, for example, in Alaska.
It is impossible for the sun to set on stars because it doesnt actually go anywhere. The reason why the sun "sets" and "rises" is just because Earth is rotating, making the side you are on face the rest of space, and away from the sun, which is our primary source of heat and light. So if the sun is not going anywhere, then it cannot set on anything.