if the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, which direction does it rise on the summer solstice in countries where the sun never fully sets?

Question

if the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, which direction does it rise on the summer solstice in countries where the sun never fully sets?

In: Earth Science

Answer 1

Above the arctic circle it would never rise on the Summer solstice, by definition.

Think of the Sun doing a full lap of the sky, clockwise in the Northern hemisphere. So at 6:00 it is due East, at 12:00 it is due South, 18:00 it is due West and 24:00 it is due North. So if sunrise is at 3:00 at a particular place on a particular day then the sun will rise in a NE direction.

On the Summer solstice, at a point just below the arctic circle, sunrise will be at 00:01, and the Sun will be just a smidgeon East of due North.