Midnight Sun, Arctic Circle

Sunday, June 18th
Arctic Circle
ms Koningsdam
12:30 AM

We crossed the Arctic Circle at 5:18 AM on Saturday, June 17th, and we have the certificates to prove it.

The port lecturer onboard ship quoted Wikipedia to explain the Arctic Circle and the Midnight Sun.  We will do the same:

"The Arctic Circle is the most northerly of the abstract five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of the Earth. It marks the northernmost point at which the noon sun is just visible on the northern winter solstice and the southernmost point at which the midnight sun is just visible on the northern summer solstice. The region north of this circle is known as the Arctic, and the zone just to the south is called the Northern Temperate Zone. North of the Arctic Circle, the sun is above the horizon for twenty-four continuous hours at least once per year (and therefore visible at midnight) and below the horizon for twenty-four continuous hours at least once per year (and therefore not visible at noon); this is also true within the equivalent polar circle in the Southern Hemisphere, the Antarctic Circle.

The position of the Arctic Circle is not fixed; as of 8 June 2017, it runs 66°33'46.7 north of the Equator. Its latitude depends on the Earth's axial tilt, which fluctuates within a margin of 2° over a 40,000-year period, due to tidal forces resulting from the orbit of the Moon. Consequently, the Arctic Circle is currently drifting northwards at a speed of about 15 meters (49 feet) per year."

All of that is to say, the Arctic Circle is defined by the Midnight Sun, and the sun will not set for the next three days while we sail in the Arctic.

Here it is, taken at midnight right off our verandah to the port side, facing West as the ship steams North up the coast of Norway.