The best thing about midnight sun is that you can do everything around the clock. Swimming, golfing, fishing, hanging out outdoors until the wee hours. With some risk that you may forget to go to bed…
The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs during the summer months, north of the Arctic Circle. This means that the sun is still visible at night. Places south of the Arctic Circle
experience midnight twilight, i.e. daylight even during the night. This is also known as midnight light or white nights.
From mid-March, the northern end of the earth’s axis tilts more and more towards the sun and reaches its maximum gradient at 23° at the summer solstice. The summer solstice means that the sun reaches its highest position in the sky during the day. This happens around June 21st. At this angle, everything north of the Arctic Circle at 66° N is exposed to sun around the clock. When the earth’s axis tilts in the other direction during the winter, everything north of the Arctic Circle is hidden from the sun’s rays.
It is a common misconception that we, here in Swedish Lapland, have either darkness or light, during the winter months when the sun never reaches the horizon or in summer when the sun never sets. But the fact is that we have light all year round, just different kinds of light. Some darker, others lighter and some really colourful.
You can see the midnight sun in almost the whole of Swedish Lapland, but even if you do not see the sun itself, you see the light. The period of midnight light in Swedish Lapland lasts for about 100 days. With a sun that practically never sets, you have more hours of potential fun at your disposal. You can swim, play golf, fish or ride well into the small hours. And if you are into photography, the 100 days without a night mean absolutely fantastic conditions.