Alaskan city loses daylight, descends into 65-day period of 'constant darkness'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The sun is spotted in Barrow on Sept. 21, 2015. (Erik Hill/Alaska Dispatch News via AP)
Residents of Utqiagvik, Alaska — formerly known as Barrow — soaked in their last sunset Sunday before the "polar night," a 65-day period of "constant darkness," officially kicked in.
Locals will have to wait until Jan. 23 at 1:04 p.m. (AKST) to once again see daylight in their hometown, which has a population around 4,400, The Weather Channel reports.
Polar nights occur in parts of Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Finland, Russia and Sweden, according to Time and Date. Since Utqiagvik is the United States' northernmost city — located north of the Arctic Circle, it's not surprising the sun would disappear for a brief period during the winter. At this time, the Sun never rises above the horizon.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}MYSTERIOUS 'CREATURE' SPOTTED IN JUPITER'S CLOUDS STUNS NASA, SPACE ENTHUSIASTS
"The farther you travel toward the north pole, the longer the days are in summer and the shorter they are in winter," the State of Alaska explains on its website.
However, the small city will see hints of light peaking through during periods of civil twilight when the Sun's disk is about 6 degrees below the horizon. Civil twilights last around six hours, but that number decreases to about three during the "heart of the polar night," The Weather Channel says.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Temperatures can dip to around -10 degrees during this time period, forecasts show.
Alaskans are used to the change. Many in the area even celebrated the beginning of the polar night last week.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We haven't seen the sun in 4 days, and another cloudy day today kept us from waving goodbye, but this fun snow mound photo-op proved that it's spirit is still with us!" resident Kristen Alburg wrote on Instagram. "Here's to another dark and wonderful winter at the top."
"Flight to Barrow/Utqiaġvik, Alaska. Sea ice, the border between sunrise and 2 months of polar night," Instagram user Matt Hemmer posted Thursday.
Instagrammer Olivia Kennedy captured one of the city's final sunsets of the year.
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