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Arctic Circle Map

North of this line the sun stays up for at least one full day in summer and stays down for at least one in winter.

How to use it

  1. Read today's latitude and the two solstice dates in the facts.
  2. Check the Today panel: it says whether the sun sets at the circle today and how many midnight-sun nights this year has.
  3. Follow the red line on the map; the shaded countries are the eight it crosses, and each white marker explains where.
  4. Type a place, or use your location, and press Find nearest point for the distance to the circle.

How it works

The circle sits at 90° minus the Earth's axial tilt. The page computes today's mean obliquity as 23.439291 - 0.0130042 T degrees (T in Julian centuries since 2000), so the circle is drawn at about 66.5636° N and moves north by roughly 49 feet (15 m) a year.

The Today panel uses the sun's declination from a low-precision solar position (Meeus, good to about 0.01°). At the circle the sun's centre at local midnight is the declination minus the tilt; it reaches the horizon only on the June solstice. Refraction and the sun's width lift the visible edge by about 0.83°, so the count of midnight-sun nights includes every day the declination is within 0.83° of the tilt, roughly a month. Solstice instants use the Meeus season formula. Country outlines are Natural Earth data served from this site; place search calls OpenStreetMap services only after you act.

Questions

Which countries does the Arctic Circle pass through?
Eight: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, the United States (Alaska), Canada, Greenland (a Danish territory) and Iceland. Iceland is crossed only at the small island of Grimsey; the mainland's northern tip falls about 2 miles (3 km) short.
Does the sun really not set on the Arctic Circle?
Only on one night, the June solstice, and even then the sun's centre just grazes the horizon. Because the atmosphere bends light, the sun's upper edge stays visible for about a month around the solstice. Further north the midnight sun lasts longer; at the pole it lasts six months.
Is there polar night at the Arctic Circle?
Strictly no. On the December solstice the sun's centre reaches the horizon at noon, and refraction lifts its edge into view, so a sliver of sun shows. True polar night, with no sun at all, starts about 55 miles (90 km) north of the circle.
Is the Arctic Circle moving?
Yes, north by about 49 feet (15 m) a year, because the Earth's tilt is decreasing. The monuments and road signs on the line are therefore slowly falling behind; the one at Grimsey will be south of the circle by around 2050.

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