Happy Solstice!

It’s December 21, the date on which the North pole is farthest from the sun. Mid-Winter for those in the North…and Mid-Summer for those down South. Here at Summit it’s the darkest day of the year, without even civil twilight.

Summit is at 72deg North which is further north than Barrow, AK and Tromsø, Norway, but not quite as far North as Svalbard. Unlike at the South Pole Station where there is no difference between “noon” and “midnight,” on the darkest day here we will see a bit of light on the horizon to the south. It’s kind of nice to be able to walk around without a headlamp, but it’s fleeting. It lasts just for a few hours and then it’s dark again.

The solstice marks the halfway point of winter. It will begin to get just a little lighter each day until the summer solstice on June 21^st. While the darkness doesn’t bother me too much we haven’t had many auroras this year and I am looking forward to seeing the sun again. Mid-winter is a big deal for Antarctic stations, especially at the South Pole (here’s a link to my mid-winter post from 2013: /”>antarcticarctic.wordpress.com/happy-mid-winter and an article by the Antarctic Sun on mid-winter celebrations:antarcticsun.usap.gov). The June solstice is celebrated with a fancy dinner and solstice greetings are sent between stations, but the December solstice is in the midst of the busy summer season down south and celebrations are typically combined with the holidays. Summit is somewhat of an anomaly all alone in the North, but as an official polar research station and the largest U.S. Arctic Research Station we join in the exchange of greetings with the stations across Antarctica.

The Big House at noon

The Big House and MSF in mid-afternoon

So, Happy Solstice and Happy Holidays from the Summit winter crew!