midnight sun

Definitions

The phenomenon occurring when the Sun does not set but only approaches the horizon at midnight; it occurs near the summer solstice in the polar regions.

uncountable, usually

Equivalents

10 more languages

Ελληνικάήλιος του μεσονυκτίου

Suomikeskiyön aurinkopolaaripäiväyötön yö

日本語白夜

ქართულიშუაღამის მზე

한국어백야

Nederlandsmiddernachtzon

Polskidzień polarny

Portuguêssol da meia-noite

Русскийполуно́чное со́лнце

Svenskamidnattssol

Examples

“He has only retained three engravings; namely, a map of the country, which is very little known, from Torneo to North Cape; a View⟳ of Torneo by the midnight moon; and a View⟳ of North Cape by the midnight sun.”

“Locked icebergs splintering through the awful night; / And quenchless midnight suns with their wild scarlet light⟳.”

“This wonderful midnight sun has a peculiar effect on the polar vegetation. Although the foliage of ligneous plants, such as shrubs and trees, which here sink⟳ down to the condition of dwarfs, is tough and coriaceous, and of a dark and sombre green, gloomy as the long night of the polar world, yet in the steady light⟳ which comes from the sun as he circulates above the horizon for weeks, that sombre green tint of the foliage is beautifully softened in the grasses and other herbaceous plants.”

“But when we come⟳ to the winter solstice, we get⟳ no more midnight suns: as shown in the figure⟳, all the circle is situated in the shaded portion; hence, again in spite of the Earth's rotation, we cannot get⟳ out of the darkness, and we do not see⟳ the Sun even at noonday.”

“Like⟳ the seasons, the "Midnight Sun" has its origin in the inclination of the earth's axis during its annual motion. […] The effect of this inclination is to produce⟳ variations in the length of the day to such an extent, that in polar regions the duration of sunlight is reckoned in months instead of hours.”

“There are strange things done in the midnight sun / By the men who moil for gold; / The Arctic trails have⟳ their secret tales / That would make⟳ your blood run⟳ cold; / The Northern Lights have⟳ seen queer sights, / But the queerest they ever did see⟳ / Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge / I cremated Sam McGee.”

CEFR level