Lieutenant Schwatka, whose recent return from a successful expedition in
search of the remains of Sir John Fanklin's ill-fated company, combats
the prevalent opinion that the Arctic winter, especially in the higher
latitudes, is a period of dreary darkness.
In latitude 83° 20' 20" N., the highest point ever reached by man, there
are four hours and forty-two minutes of twilight on December 22, the
shortest day in the year, in the northern hemisphere. In latitude 82°
27' N., the highest point where white men have wintered, there are six
hours and two minutes in the shortest day; and latitude 84° 32' N., 172
geographical miles nearer the North Pole than Markham reached, and 328
geographical miles from that point, must yet be attained before the true
Plutonic zone, or that one in which there is no twilight whatsoever,
even upon the shortest day of the year, can be said to have been entered
by man. Of course, about the beginning and ending of this twilight, it
is very feeble and easily extinguished by even the slightest mists, but
nevertheless it exists, and is quite appreciable on clear cold days, or
nights, properly speaking. The North Pole itself is only shrouded in
perfect blackness from November 13 to January 29, a period of
seventy-seven days. Supposing that the sun has set (supposing a
circumpolar sea or body of water unlimited to vision) on September 24,
not to rise until March 18, for that particular point, giving a period
of about fifty days of uniformly varying twilight, the pole has about
188 days of continuous daylight, 100 days of varying twilight, and 77 of
perfect inky darkness (save when the moon has a northern declination) in
the period of a typical year. During the period of a little over four
days, the sun shines continuously on both the North and South Poles at
the same time, owing to refraction parallax, semi-diameter, and dip of
the horizon.
* * * * *