It might sound like a contradiction to have a solar eclipse in the middle of the night. But this is what will happen in northern Norway, Sweden and Finland on June 1. Almost 60 % of the Sun will be hidden by the Moon around midnight local time. A midnight Sun eclipse can only occur close to the poles and only during summer when the Sun never sets.

LIVE WEBCAST OF THIS RARE ECLIPSE

The eclipse as it is expected to appear in the Bodø area. 
Illustration: Knut Jørgen Røed Ødegaard

LOCAL TIMES AND CONDITIONS

From time to time partial solar eclipses occur around the globe. When views through eclipse shades these eclipses can be quite beautiful. During large solar eclipses it becomes darker, and the light silvery. This time the beautiful reddish and yellow colors in the sky caused by the midnight Sun are expected to mix with the effects of a 60 % (diameter) solar eclipse.

In Norway the eclipse begins at 22:37 local time (20:37 UT) and ends at 00:22 (22:22 UT). Maximum eclipse is reached around 23:30 local time (21:30 UT).

The eclipse can be viewed from the Norwegian counties of Møre og Romsdal, Trøndelag, Nordland, Troms, Finnmark as well as Spitsbergen. Northern Norway and Spitsbergen will enjoy the best view. This will be the first midnight Sun eclipse in Norway since 2000 and the largest one since 1985. Scandinavians must wait until 2084 to have a larger eclipse of the midnight Sun.

Since the rotational axis of the Earth is tilted by 23.5 degrees areas located north of 67.5 degrees latitude (the Arctic Circle) experience a period each summer when the Sun does not set – it is a midnight Sun.

MORE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND HERE

NB! If the weather conditions permit, there will be a webcast of the event on www.astroevents.no.

The previous eclipse of the midnight Sun occured in Scandinavia on July 31, 2000. This photo was taken from Northern Sweden. The eclipse of June 1, 2011 will cover an area of the Sun that is more than twice as big.
Photo: Oddleiv Skilbrei