Why does it stay dark or light daytime for nearly 24 hours at the poles?

Question

Okay I know this is like 4th grade science or something, but I think with my stroke I just can’t seem to picture why the sun is “on” or “off” for most of the day up at the North Pole or down at South Pole, and yet at the equator days are very regular year ’round.

I keep picturing the Earth on its axis, but I just can’t seem to figure out how the sun shines differently at different latitudes.

In: 3

Answer 1

Like others have pointed out, it’s due to the earths tilted axis,I believe it’s easier to understand by visualizing it, so here’s a link that shows the earth and sun on the winter solstice (when Antarctica would have perpetual sunlight)

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/events/2020/12/21/winter-solstice-in-the-northern-hemisphere/