Point Hope, Alaska is located on the eastern shore of Kotzebue Sound and is part of the Tongass National Forest. The city is the administrative...
Sunset
Twilight
Darkness
Most people know that sunset is the time when the sun goes down. But did you know that the sun doesn't actually set? Instead, Earth rotates into darkness, giving us the illusion that the sun is setting. So what causes sunset?
Well, it's a combination of things. The Earth's atmosphere scatters sunlight in every direction, but blue and violet light are scattered more than other colors. This is why the sky is usually blue during the daytime. As the sun gets lower in the sky, the atmosphere becomes thicker and more dense.
This scattering of sunlight happens to a greater extent, and we see red and orange light more than blue and violet light. That's why sunset is usually a beautiful red or orange color. So next time you see sunset, remember that you're actually seeing Earth rotate into darkness!
Point Hope, Alaska is located on the eastern shore of Kotzebue Sound and is part of the Tongass National Forest. The city is the administrative center of the Point Hope Census Area and has a population of 1,500. The city's climate is characterized by great variation in temperature, with a lows around -10 degrees F and highs around 50 degrees F. Point Hope is the closest city to the US Census Bureau's extraction site for the 2014-2018 American Community Survey. The nearest state capitals are Anchorage and Juneau. Point Hope is bordered by the Sterling and Sureno National Forests.
}As the sun sets, the sky slowly grows dark. For many people, this is a time to relax and wind down for the day. But have you ever wondered exactly when it gets dark? The answer may surprise you.
Did you know that darkness actually begins long before the sun sets? As the sun gets lower in the sky, its light has to travel through more atmosphere. This filters out some of the blue light, making the sun look redder. At the same time, shadows get longer and darker. So by the time the sun finally dips below the horizon, darkness has already begun to fall.
Of course, not all places on Earth experience darkness at the same time. Near the equator, the sun sets and rises almost directly overhead. This means that there is less of a difference between daytime and nighttime. Closer to the poles, however, the sun stays low in the sky for much of the year. This leads to longer periods of darkness during wintertime.