In episode EAT04 of KPO’s European Astronomy Tour, we’re coming to you from Flam, Norway, located at 61 degrees north latitude. Here at the northernmost point of our trip, we’re going to experience the phenomenon of the Midnight Sun. At this point we are only 5 degrees south of the Arctic Circle, the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude that are drawn on our maps of the Earth.
During the summer here in Scandinavia, the sun never gets more than 10 degrees below the horizon, so the sky never gets anywhere near dark. So you can forget about doing any kind of astronomy except solar work!
Around the summer solstice, approximately the 21st of June in the northern hemisphere when we have our longest day of the year, the sun is visible for the full 24 hours north of the arctic circle. The number of days per year with potential midnight sun increases the farther north you go. Learn more about this interesting phenomenon of the northern latitudes by watching our episode – you’ll enjoy experiencing the Midnight Sun with us!
You can find our episode schedule on the main Tour page. As we are traveling around, I will be editing and uploading from the many hostels in which we will be staying, and the internet may be shaky, so visit the Tour page often to see any adjustments that may occur.
Watch this week’s show on YouTube:
You can find the Show Notes on our website at https://kpobservatory.org/EAT04/. Please feel free to leave a question or comment, and we will respond as quickly as we can.
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Star Chart Images & Simulations Courtesy of SkySafari Astronomy http://SkySafariAstronomy.com
Kissimmee Park Observatory is dedicated to the study and imaging of the night sky, and performing astronomy outreach for individuals and groups.