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Lapland's 8 seasons: Polar night

Lapland's 8 seasons: Polar night

The darkest time of the year is the most colorful time of the year!

Those who have not experienced polar night easily imagine that the time when the sun does not officially rise is completely sack-dark around the clock. The closer we are to the North Pole, the longer the time is without light, but here in Muonio, on latitude 69, the invisibility of the sun does not mean endless darkness.

 

From the moment the first snow hits the ground, the whole world is enlightened around, and there is no more darkness. Of course, the nights are dark, but the lower the sun shines, the more colorful the hours before sunrise - and the sunset gets. And during that 3-week period, when the sun doesn't rise at all, the sky is engrossed in the wildest fireworks. There are red, purple, yellow, orange, almost all the colors of the rainbow. And in the evenings the sky is filled with stars and the moon.

And the northern lights! If it wouldn't be dark, one could not see the northern lights, those magic swirls that enchant with their movement and singing. The location of Muonio is actually perfect for northern lights. We are located directly under the northern light oval orbiting the earth's magnetic poles. The probability of northern lights is very high and on average northern lights occur every other night.