The view out my berthing window to the geographic Pole. Look for the big flag between the two building on the left.
The sun set for the one and only time this year on March 22nd at 6:41pm. We did not get to see it because it was unbelievably cloudy that day. Around 3 days later, the clouds finally broke and we had
some amazing colors on the horizon. We won't see the sun again for 183 days when it comes up around the fall equinox - September 21st or 22nd.
Looking out to our skiway (runway for planes with skis).
A diagram that helps explain why the polar regions have extended periods without sunrises or sunsets.
I thought sunrise and sunset would be like McMurdo where
the sun rose and set each day for a month or so before dropping behind
the horizon for good. However, because the Earth’s axis of rotation is
tilted 23.5 degrees with respect to the path of its orbit around the
Sun, the North and South Poles only get one sunset a year.
The nice thing is that sunset lasts for more than a day! I remember Rob telling me his first winter there how bummed he was to miss the sunset...at the time I didn't realize it was the ONLY sunset! My winter we missed sunrise with a two week storm...but when it finally shown through it was amazing! I will say that night sky will more than make up for the sunshine loss!
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