Polar Night in the Northernmost Town

(smithsonianmag.com)

67 points | by Brajeshwar 5 days ago ago

13 comments

  • iambateman 7 hours ago

    I spent four months in Sweden and the darkness was way different than I expected.

    For one thing, “day” felt less like “day” in the sense that the sun never fully rose, it just peeked above the horizon for a few hours.

    And for another, it was harder than I expected. For the first time in my life, I _felt_ a need for sunshine.

    • antupis 5 hours ago

      It is kinda hard when there is no snow so it is really pitch black. Basically October-November sucks and then it gets easier.

      • lawn an hour ago

        That's the big difference between the north of Sweden and the south.

        In the north of Sweden the winter is very nice as the snow reflects the light well and makes it a lot brighter, although as you say it's currently dark without snow, which sucks.

        But in the south you don't have as much snow, so the winter is mostly a very dark (and wet). The joke goes that there are only two seasons in the south: summer and autumn.

  • throwup238 8 hours ago

    In the same vein brr.fyi has a great time lapse of an Antarctic sunset: https://brr.fyi/posts/sunset

    • macintux 6 hours ago

      Thanks, I was coming to share that blog. There’s a plethora of interesting Antarctic content.

  • jader201 7 hours ago

    I can relate to a lot of this article’s allure of winter, snow, and night, all three things I love.

    All of them bring a sense of calm, even when being outdoors. Snow literally makes being outside quieter.

    I’ve often felt like a weirdo for liking these three, but I don’t care. E.g. I also like DST causing the night to start earlier.

    To be clear, though, I also like other seasons, and while I don’t enjoy losing an hour at the start of Standard Time, by then I’m ready for the instant extra hour of sun before bedtime — much like I’m sure the people of Longyearbyen are ready for the end of polar night.

    • mb7733 7 hours ago

      Just FYI you have standard time and daylight savings time mixed up. DST is in the summer and makes sunrise and sunset later.

    • theandrewbailey 6 hours ago

      > E.g. I also like DST causing the night to start earlier.

      Um, DST causes night/sunset to happen later.

      • mp05 6 hours ago

        Was the "um" really necessary? In case you didn't know (and I mean it in all earnestness), that is perceived as pretty rude.

  • xupybd 7 hours ago

    The author has a really interesting YouTube channel with more on their life there.

  • aspenmayer 8 hours ago