Is it completely dark in the six months of darkness in Alaska?

Answer 1

No, that only happens at the north pole or south pole.

Alaska has LONG days and short nights in the summer, and SHORT days and long nights in the winter. But unless you're north of the Arctic Circle, there's at least an hour of light each day. But it's tough having the sun come up just before lunch and go down right after!

Down in the southern parts near Anchorage, there are several hours of light each day even in the middle of winter.

Answer 2

While Alaska does experience six months of darkness in some regions during winter, there is still some light during that time. There may be periods of twilight, and some regions still receive a few hours of daylight. The darkness also varies depending on how far north you are in the state.

Answer 3

The short, direct answer to the question is: At night. The nights are longer in Winter

and shorter in Summer in Alaska, just as they are everywhere else in the world.

Also, what makes Alaska unique among the 50 states is that the "Arctic Circle" cuts

across it, and things are a bit different north of the Circle. Any point north of the

Arctic Circle experiences a period of more than 24 hours without a sunrise once

a year, and a period of more than 24 hours without a sunset once a year.

The Arctic Circle cuts Alaska roughly along a line from Shishmaref through Allakaket

and Fort Yukon, to Chalkayitsik.

The farther north of the Circle a place is, the longer period it has without a sunrise

once during Winter, and without a sunset once during Summer.

At the North Pole, the sun never rises from September 21 to March 21, and it

never sets from March 21 to September 21.

Again, the question asks "When is it all dark in Alaska?"

To summarize the answer:

-- It's all dark all over Alaska at night.

-- Nights are shorter in Summer and longer in Winter, everywhere.

-- Some parts of Alaska have more extreme changes than other parts have.

-- South of the Arctic Circle, day or night can never be longer than 24 hours.

-- North of the Arctic Circle, day and night are each longer than 24 hours, once a year.

-- No matter how long the longest day is, the middle of it is always some time

on or near June 21.

-- No matter how long the longest night is, the middle of it is always some time

on or near December 21.

Answer 4

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Answer 5

It isn't. Much of Alaska is south of the Arctic Circle, and so never sees the "midnight sun", or the weeks of darkness. Even at the northernmost point, Alaska does not have more than about 3 months of night.

Answer 6

Any point north of the Arctic Circle experiences a period of more than 24 hours without a sunrise once a year,
and a period of more than 24 hours without a sunset once a year.

That's the significance of the Arctic Circle. It cuts Alaska roughly along a line from Shishmaref through Allakaket
and Fort Yukon, to Chalkayitsik.

The farther north of the Circle a place is, the longer period it has without a sunrise during Winter, and without
a sunset during Summer.

At the North Pole, the sun never rises from September 21 to March 21, and never sets from March 21 to September 21.

Answer 7

Barrow, Alaska is at a latitude of 71.3 degrees North. For two months around the winter solstice the sun is always below the horizon, but it is never totally dark all day long.

On November 18 (exact times vary slightly each year) the sun will rise almost due south at 12:47 PM. The sun barely rises above the horizon, and sets 50 minutes later. The sun does not come up again until January 23rd.

However, there are never less than three hours of Civil Twilight, which is when the sun is within 6 degrees of the horizon. On December 21, the winter solstice, Civil Twilight in Barrow starts at 11:55 AM and continues until 2:55 PM, for a total of 3 hours. During that time it is possbile, for example, to read a newspaper quite easily, but it's not so bright that you'd want to drive a car without the lights on (not to see the road, but to make sure others see you).

The sun comes up again in late January, and by early May it never really gets dark. On May 10th the sun rises and does not set again until August 2nd.

Answer 8

Not necessarily. 24-hour darkness in the winter months occurs only in part above the Arctic Circle. Places that most are familiar with--Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks, Nome-- get some sunlight for at least a few hours each day. The longest nights occur around Dec. 21st, i.e.- winter solstice.

Answer 9

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.

Answer 10

There is nowhere in Alaska that has six months of darkness. The only places that experience 6 months of darkness are at the North Pole and the South Pole, and even then, there is a week or so of twilight after sunset and before dawn.

The most northern part of Alaska is Point Barrow, Alaska. When the Sun sets on November 18, it won't come back up again until January 23, which is only a little more than two months of darkness.

On the other hand, when the sun rises at 1:30 AM on May 10, it doesn't set again until August 2nd.