Alaskan town sees last sunset until August, faces months of daylight
In Utqiagvik, Alaska, the sun will not set again until Aug. 2.
Julia GomezA town in Alaska just saw its last sunset for 84 days.
On Saturday, May 9, in Utqiagvik, Alaska, the northernmost city in the United States, the sun rose and won't set again until 2:57 a.m. local time on Aug. 2, according to the National Weather Service.
That means the city will experience daylight for nearly three months.
Once the 84 days are up, the town will not immediately go dark. Instead, the sun will stay close enough to the horizon to keep true nighttime darkness from appearing, and it will look more like twilight, AccuWeather explained. True nighttime darkness won't appear until Sept. 21, nearly two months after the first sunset.
See sun set for the last time in Alaskan town
Why does this happen?
Because of the town's location on the Arctic Ocean, it experiences "dramatic swings" in daylight throughout the year, according to AccuWeather.
In the summer, it will have months of daylight, but in winter, it will see weeks of darkness.
Julia Gomez is a Trending reporter for USA TODAY and covers invasive species, space phenomena, scientific studies, natural disasters and trending news. Connect with her on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at [email protected].