Sunrise at the South Pole
Explanation:
Sunrise at the South Pole is different.
Usually a
welcome sight, it follows months of darkness -- and begins months of sunshine.
At Earth's poles, it can
take weeks for the Sun to rise,
in contrast with just minutes at any
mid-latitude location.
Sunrise
at a pole is caused by the
tilt of the Earth as it orbits the
Sun, not by the
rotation of the Earth.
Although at a pole, an airless Earth would first see first Sun at an
equinox, the
lensing effect of the
Earth's atmosphere and the size of the
solar disk causes the
top of the Sun to appear about two-weeks early.
Pictured two weeks ago, the Sun peaks above the horizon of a
vast
frozen
landscape at Earth's South Pole.
The true South Pole is just a few meters to the left of the communications tower.
This polar sunrise capture was particularly photogenic as the Sun appeared capped
by a
green flash.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
