Why Fairbanks Has 22 Hours of Daylight

Around June 21, Fairbanks gets roughly 22 hours of daylight and never truly goes dark. Here's why.

Earth's tilt

Our planet is tilted about 23.5 degrees. Near the summer solstice, the Northern Hemisphere leans toward the sun, and the farther north you are, the longer the sun stays up.

Fairbanks's latitude

At about 65°N, Fairbanks is just south of the Arctic Circle — so around the solstice the sun dips below the horizon only briefly, leaving a long twilight that never becomes true night.

Farther north

Cross the Arctic Circle and the sun doesn't set at all — Utqiagvik (Barrow) has 24-hour daylight for weeks. Anchorage, farther south, still gets about 19 hours.

Experience it at the Midnight Sun Festival, and read solstice things to do and about the midnight baseball game.