Ukrainian polar explorers in the Antarctic observe the "White Nights" — now it is late spring there and the day is very long. The sun rose at 03:18 and will set at 22:50, so the daylight hours are 19 hours and 32 minutes and increasing.
This was reported by the National Antarctic Science Center.
The longest day at the "Akademik Vernadsky" station will be December 21 — in the Southern Hemisphere it is the day of the summer solstice. It will last 22 hours and 24 minutes, and instead of night for an hour and a half, there will be just twilight.
Since the station is located north of the Arctic Circle, the phenomenon of the polar day — the period when the sun does not set below the horizon for more than a day — is not observed there. At the South Pole, the duration of the polar day is as much as 184 days.
How polar explorers live in "white nights"
"At night, the windows have to be covered, and the New Year is celebrated with lights. But after the Antarctic winter, the sun and bright daytime landscapes definitely improve the mood," scientists say.
The long daylight hours add to the work of meteorologists, in particular, when the sky is cloudless. Then, using a special device — an aerosol solar photometer — scientists measure the concentration of aerosols in the atmosphere every hour.
Thanks to this, researchers find out how the amount of suspended particles in the atmosphere changes during a day, week or month. This is important, because such seemingly small aerosols play a huge role in shaping the weather and climate. Climate models for the entire Earth are then created based on such measurements
With good weather, summer is also the "hot season" for the ozonometer. When the sky is clear, so many ozone measurements have to be done that the scientist hardly leaves his office. And if there are no clouds both at sunset and at sunrise, then the researcher will not have to sleep.
Therefore, sunny weather and long days bring polar explorers not only joy, but also a lot of work. But scientists admit that it is also always a joy.