Over a period of nearly 20 years, the Earth's tilt oscillates about 280 meters (924 feet), which causes the circle at present to be moving north at the rate of about 14 meters (46 feet) per year.

This is true at sea level these limits increase with elevation above sea level, but in mountainous regions there is often no direct view of the horizon.)īecause of a slow wobble that the Earth has in its rotation over a period of more than 40,000 years, the Arctic Circle also moves slowly about, to the point that it is problematic to say exactly where it lies even one day to the next. (In fact, because of refraction and because the sun appears as a disk and not a point, part of the midnight sun may be seen at the night of the summer solstice up to about 90 km (56 miles) south of the Arctic Circle similarly, at the day of the winter solstice part of the sun may be seen up to about 90 km north of the circle. Points within the circle experience longer periods of continuous light and darkness depending on their proximity to the North Pole, where six months of sunlight alternate with a half-year of darkness. Within the whole area of the Arctic Circle, the Sun is above the horizon for at least 24 continuous hours once per year, in conjunction with the Arctic's summer solstice, which is often referred to as the 'midnight sun.' Likewise, in conjunction with the Arctic's winter solstice, the Arctic sun will be below the horizon in the entire area for at least 24 continuous hours, which could just as easily be called the 'noontime night.' The darkness is often alleviated, though, by the awesome beauty of the Aurora Borealis, or 'Northern Lights,' which result from the interplay of the Earth's magnetic field and the solar wind.

To is the property of their respective owners, and Athropolis is not responsible for their content.The Arctic Circle marks the southern extremity of the polar day of the summer solstice in June and the polar night of the winter solstice in December. The content of web sites that this site has links (2) Click button for to search this web siteĬopyright © 2005 Athropolis Productions Limited. (1) Click the button for Web (below) to search the World Wide Web GUIDE TO ARCTIC SUNRISE & SUNSET: How much sunlight or darkness is there in the Arctic on each day of the year? As well, the circumference taken pole-to-pole would be 24,860 miles / 40,008 km - a slight decrease in distance.Ĭlick pictures for more information and credits.ĭICTIONARY: Just 'double-click' any unlinked word on this page for the definition from Merriam-Webster's Student Electronic Dictionary at Word Central.ĪRCTIC LIBRARY & GLOSSARY: Check this section for an index of the rest of the things you really need to know about the Arctic.ĪRCTIC MAPS & WEATHER REPORTS: Maps of the Northwest Passage, explorers' routes, iceberg sources, Nunavut, the Arctic by treeline, temperature.ĪRCTIC LINKS: Even more information! Links to sites related to the Arctic and 'Iceberg: the Story of the Throps and the Squallhoots'. This spinning seems to have had the effect of making the planet 'bulge' around the Equator and be slightly flatter at the poles. The planet Earth is not a perfect sphere. You're just spinning around on one spot - very, very slowly (like one turn every 24 hours). if you're standing right on the North Pole, you're not moving at any speed at all. This would slow you down to 457 mph / 736 kph.Īnd. Standing on the Arctic Circle, the distance around the Earth is reduced to about 10,975 miles / 17,662 km. It spins around once every 24 hours, so if you are standing on the Equator you are actually moving at about 1,037 mph / 1,669 kph. The circumference of the Earth at the Equator is 24,902 miles / 40,075 km. The Arctic Circle marks the start of the area where, for at least one day each year, the sun does not completely set ( June 21) or rise ( December 22). The area north of this imaginary line (at about 66☃3' north of the Equator) is known as the Arctic, and the zone just to the south of this circle is the Northern Temperate Zone. The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. Hold On at the Equator - Relax at the Poles Arctic Circle Athropolis HOME | Maps | Arctic Links | Arctic Libraryįrom our library of things you should know about the Arctic

Artic circle