#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. Officially, the polar night in Norilsk lasts 45 days – from November 30 to January 13, as evidenced by the diagram compiled by Nikolay Urvantsev. At the same time, in recent years, experts, as well as ordinary residents of our city, have different opinions on this matter. Someone claims that the last day of the calendar autumn is the date of the beginning of Polar night, and there is nothing to argue about. Others are ready to disagree with this and bring new mathematical calculations in their favor.
Last year, Svetlana Gunina, a journalist of the Severny Gorod TV and Radio Company, decided to investigate this issue. She appealed for advice to the former teacher of physics and astronomy Alexander Vasyanovich, who, using a special formula, taking the latitude of Norilsk as a reference point, found out that the polar night begins on December 2 and ends on January 11.
“In Norilsk, the diagram of Nikolay Urvantsev is traditionally used to calculate the polar night and polar day. We cannot say for sure whether it is right or not, because, for example, according to Norilsk meteorologists, such diagrams were compiled based on visual observations”, Svetlana Gunina shared in an interview with This Is Taimyr.
At the same time, she explained that for the beginning of the polar night, some take the beginning of the so-called optical polar night, when, thanks to refraction, an optical phenomenon, the rays of light are refracted and visually raise the luminary. Therefore, when the sun goes down the horizon, we still see it.
In addition, the journalist says, Norilsk forecasters rely on the calculations of the Sobolev Astronomical Institute in St. Petersburg, where the polar night in our city was set from December 8 to January 10. However, Svetlana Gunina believes that this date is hardly correct, because in this case the sun leaves Norilsk later than Murmansk, which is located to the south of us.
When exactly does the polar night begin in Norilsk? Officially – November 30. But for many northerners, the question remains open. Until December 22, the length of daylight hours will decrease daily until it reaches a peak, after which the night will slowly begin to surrender its rights. At the end of January, we will see the long-awaited sun again. First the luminary will rise over Talnah.
By the way, in Russia, the polar night is observed in 20 percent of the country’s territory. The record holder for this indicator is Dixon – 80 days.
Text: Mikhail Tuaev, Photo: Olga Polyanskaya
