Day in The Middle of The Night
In the minds of most people, night is associated with darkness, or rather, with the absence of the sun. The direct opposite of a bright sunny day, when instead of carefree sunbeams, only distorted shadows are born, darker than the darkness itself.
However, let me tell you that this is not always the case. And to do this, we do not need to move to other planets, to distant galaxies, studying astronomers' theories that there may be worlds where a sunny day lasts a week or a month. To do this, it is enough to step over the border of the Arctic Circle and starting from May 22, you will get into a day two months long.
The Polar day will begin in these parts in a week, and will end in July. Eternal celebration of the sun, compensation for 40 days of an impenetrable winter night. My watch says 00:47 a.m., but that's what my eyes see.
No post-processing of photos. This is the world I live in. We always rejoice at the arrival of summer, this is the best reward after a long cold winter. But nature here rewards every living being with an even greater miracle, allowing us to enjoy the sun for so long, accumulating its energy.
It's strange, but when people find out where I'm from, they ask me to confirm the stories that polar bears walk the streets of our cities. It's not like that, people get upset because they sincerely believed in it. But when I tell them that every summer for two months the sun doesn't set over the horizon, they look at me as crazy and don't believe it.
Just believe me, it will only take a few weeks and at 3 a.m. the sun will be visible at the same height where the moon is in the photo:
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It seems surreal, and in fact, it is hard for the human psyche to perceive.Just imagine waking up at 12:00 and you can't tell if it's day or night. People are used to being guided by the level of light and the position of the sun, it won't work here.
Locals immediately recognize the difference by small signs: there are no people and cars on the streets, if you are outside the city, you will almost not see birds in the sky. The solar disk is slightly smaller than during the day, and not so bright, and most importantly, you will not feel the heat from its rays, absolutely.
But, you will feel the warmth of the miracle of the moment, feeling yourself in another world, on another planet. The opportunity to hear the silence of the night without being in the dark. To see how all living things sleep, in daylight. To see in detail the nightlife, under the rays of the sun. Maybe find something new in the nocturnal self.
Haha that's like people asking me if we get kangaroos or crocodiles in our garden, and they imagine snakes everywhere!! Funny
Beautiful photos. I still couldn't bear it - or polar bear it - but I imagine that yes, I could possibly find 'something new in the nocturnal self.'
I understand you perfectly, the eternal struggle with stereotypes 😁 Of course, there are occasional unexpected encounters with the local fauna, but for me it is the same surprise as for any visitor.
I think you would like it here. By the way, a couple of years ago a surfer base was opened on the shore of the Barents sea. I think it's amazing to conquer the waves of the cold sea under the light of the night sun.
Omg wow. Must google. There's a great surfing doco about surfing in the cold, I loved it. At least there would be no crowds or sharks! I'd definitely give that a go!!
Your polar world is beautifully surreal, as always. But seriously: how do you sleep in summer and how do you deal with months of night? Equatorial dweller minds need to know 😉
Honestly, we don't have superpowers or a secret recipe for how to survive this. The body tries to adapt to some extent, on a polar night you want to sleep constantly, so whenever possible we try to sleep in our free time, like bears in hibernation.
On a polar day, sleep cycles just collapse. For many, the norm is to fall asleep at this time of year only at 2-3 o'clock in the morning, when the body is already at the limit and does not react to the presence of light. In my youth, it didn't interfere much, in adulthood, when you have to work on a schedule, it's hard. Maybe that's why there is an opinion that the Northerners are a bit slow
How wonderful to see your photos of the summer nights. I have seen many documentaries about your region, so I was familiar with the sun being there for 2 months with the night. Yes, a reward for the harsh winter days you have. Enjoy it to the fullest!
The photographs are just stunning @thenortherner 😁 beautiful… it does look special if you observe closely.
Thank you so much @littlebee4! 😊 Yeah, we live in extremes here, either endless darkness or endless day. I've also seen documentaries about my region, it's funny. It's like you see a classmate in a news release, a strange feeling 😅
You are so welcome @thenortherner 😁
I can imagine the funny and at the same time the strange feeling of that hahaha hope they portray it well 😎
Have a wonderful new week and enjoy your Monday!
Those are so wonderful pictures, thanks for sharing with us😇
Thank you for stopping, my friend! 🤗
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Wow, that is an interesting article. I wouldn't say that is a night photo.
I like darkness for sleeping, so that is not for me but I am sure it is interesting.
Hahaha, visit us in December and you will get 24 hours of darkness a day, you will be able to sleep well! 😉
May sound weird but the first thing that came to mind was how are these apartment buildings heated? You would need reliable heating when it gets really cold.
Serviceable but not pretentious buildings. Good the buildings are not too high as to obscure the skyline.
The Land of the Midnight Sun was something I learned about in school so I am familiar with this phenomenon of sun for two straight months. Something one would have to get used to but we humans are quite adaptable…night darkening shades on the windows would help to get a nights sleep when the sun is shining. Now for the darkness 24-7 … that may take a bit of getting used too.
Have a great week ahead dear Northman. 🤗
I'm sorry for such a long answer, my dear friend. But your question about heating houses has put me at a dead end. Never thought about it before. 😅
As it turned out, nothing extraordinary. No super pipes or powerful pressure in the pipes. Almost everything is like in the central strip. With the exception of one nuance, certain chemicals are added to tap water in winter, so that hot water retains heat for longer, and cold water withstands even lower temepartures. And of course the boiler rooms are working to the maximum. And we also pay for heating in winter 8-10 times more expensive than people in the south 😁
Not too worry, dear Northman. I think it is hot water heating then. I was just curious because of the extreme cold at times.
A lot of houses and apartments here have gotten heat pumps which are suppose to be more efficient and use less hydro. They work by transferring heat from cold air outside your home to the inside of your home and they also double as an air conditioning system in summer. Most people have a second heat source too. Wintertime costs lots to keep warm.
Have a great Thursday! 😊
When I visited Alaska for several months many years ago, I had my first experience of "perpetual" twilight. I stood at the end of our road where we were staying near Talkeetna and held my arms out wide, the sun in one palm and the moon in the other. Surreal indeed!
Years later, in 2012 I was able to visit my husbands family summer home in Denmark, we stayed for a few weeks in June, and it became apparent to me why, for centuries, people slept in "closets" or had curtains around their beds.
I was prepared the next time we visited, I brought "black out" curtains in my luggage because I can't sleep with a mask.
We get long days here too, but nothing like your Maxfield Parrish skies! Wow!
Unos cielos maravillosos para pintar a la acuarela. No, no hay que irse por esas galaxias para ver cielos hermosos, en nuestro hogar, que es La Tierra, podemos verlos. Miremos con detenimiento la hermosura de nuestra casa, de nuestro planeta Tierra.