Antarctic Circle - wikipedia Antarctic Circle Map of the Antarctic with the Antarctic Circle in blue. The Antarctic Circle is the most southerly of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. The region south of this circle is known as the Antarctic, and the zone immediately to the north is called the Southern Temperate Zone. South of the Antarctic Circle, the sun is above the horizon for 24 continuous hours at least once per year ( and therefore visible at midnight ) and ( at least partially ) below the horizon for 24 continuous hours at least once per year ( and therefore not fully visible at noon ) ; this is also true within the equivalent polar circle in the Northern Hemisphere, the Arctic Circle. The position of the Antarctic Circle is not fixed ; as of 17 September 2017, it runs 66 ° 33 ′ 46.8 '' south of the Equator. Its latitude depends on the Earth 's axial tilt, which fluctuates within a margin of 2 ° over a 40,000 - year period, due to tidal forces resulting from the orbit of the Moon. Consequently, the Antarctic Circle is currently drifting southwards at a speed of about 15 m ( 49 ft ) per year. Contents 1 Midnight sun and polar night 2 Human habitation 3 Geography 3.1 Sites along the Circle 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Midnight sun and polar night Relationship of Earth 's axial tilt ( ε ) to the tropical and polar circles Further information : Midnight sun and Polar night The Antarctic Circle is the northernmost latitude in the Southern Hemisphere at which the sun can remain continuously above or partially below the horizon for twenty - four hours ; as a result, at least once each year at any location within the Antarctic Circle the sun is visible at local midnight, and at least once it is partially obscured at local noon. Directly on the Antarctic Circle these events occur, in principle, exactly once per year : at the December and June solstices, respectively. However, because of atmospheric refraction and mirages, and because the sun appears as a disk and not a point, part of the midnight sun may be seen on the night of the southern summer solstice up to about 50 minutes ( ′ ) ( 90 km ( 56 mi ) ) north of the Antarctic Circle ; similarly, on the day of the southern winter solstice, part of the sun may be seen up to about 50 ′ south of the Antarctic Circle. That is true at sea level ; those limits increase with elevation above sea level, although in mountainous regions there is often no direct view of the true horizon. Mirages on the Antarctic continent tend to be even more spectacular than in Arctic regions, creating, for example, a series of apparent sunsets and sunrises while in reality the sun remains under the horizon. Human habitation An iceberg near the Antarctic Circle north of Detaille Island Further information : Demographics of Antarctica There is no permanent human population south of the Antarctic Circle, but there are several research stations in Antarctica operated by various nations that are inhabited by teams of scientists who rotate on a seasonal basis. In previous centuries some semi-permanent whaling stations were established on the continent, and some whalers would live there for a year or more. At least three children have been born in Antarctica, albeit in stations north of the Antarctic Circle. Geography Map all coordinates using OSM Map all coordinates using Google Export all coordinates as KML Export all coordinates as GPX Map all microformatted coordinates Place data as RDF The Antarctic Circle is roughly 17,662 kilometres ( 10,975 mi ) long. The area south of the Circle is about 20,000,000 km ( 7,700,000 sq mi ) and covers roughly 4 % of Earth 's surface. The continent of Antarctica covers much of the area within the Antarctic Circle. Sites along the Circle Starting at the prime meridian and heading eastwards, the Antarctic Circle passes through : Co-ordinates Country, territory or sea Notes 66 ° 34 ′ S 0 ° 0 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 66.567 ° S 0.000 ° E ﻿ / - 66.567 ; 0.000 ﻿ ( Prime Meridian ) Southern Ocean North of Queen Maud Land and Enderby Land 66 ° 34 ′ S 50 ° 32 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 66.567 ° S 50.533 ° E ﻿ / - 66.567 ; 50.533 ﻿ ( Antarctica ) Antarctica -- Enderby Land Territory claimed by Australia 66 ° 34 ′ S 57 ° 19 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 66.567 ° S 57.317 ° E ﻿ / - 66.567 ; 57.317 ﻿ ( Southern Ocean ) Southern Ocean North of the Amery Ice Shelf 66 ° 34 ′ S 82 ° 6 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 66.567 ° S 82.100 ° E ﻿ / - 66.567 ; 82.100 ﻿ ( Antarctica ) Antarctica Territory claimed by Australia 66 ° 34 ′ S 89 ° 14 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 66.567 ° S 89.233 ° E ﻿ / - 66.567 ; 89.233 ﻿ ( Southern Ocean ) Southern Ocean 66 ° 34 ′ S 91 ° 29 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 66.567 ° S 91.483 ° E ﻿ / - 66.567 ; 91.483 ﻿ ( Antarctica ) Antarctica Territory claimed by Australia 66 ° 34 ′ S 92 ° 21 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 66.567 ° S 92.350 ° E ﻿ / - 66.567 ; 92.350 ﻿ ( Southern Ocean ) Southern Ocean 66 ° 34 ′ S 93 ° 52 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 66.567 ° S 93.867 ° E ﻿ / - 66.567 ; 93.867 ﻿ ( Antarctica ) Antarctica Territory claimed by Australia 66 ° 34 ′ S 107 ° 45 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 66.567 ° S 107.750 ° E ﻿ / - 66.567 ; 107.750 ﻿ ( Southern Ocean ) Southern Ocean Vincennes Bay 66 ° 34 ′ S 110 ° 12 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 66.567 ° S 110.200 ° E ﻿ / - 66.567 ; 110.200 ﻿ ( Antarctica ) Antarctica -- Wilkes Land Territory claimed by Australia 66 ° 34 ′ S 116 ° 35 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 66.567 ° S 116.583 ° E ﻿ / - 66.567 ; 116.583 ﻿ ( Southern Ocean ) Southern Ocean 66 ° 34 ′ S 121 ° 31 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 66.567 ° S 121.517 ° E ﻿ / - 66.567 ; 121.517 ﻿ ( Antarctica ) Antarctica -- Wilkes Land Territory claimed by Australia 66 ° 34 ′ S 127 ° 9 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 66.567 ° S 127.150 ° E ﻿ / - 66.567 ; 127.150 ﻿ ( Southern Ocean ) Southern Ocean 66 ° 34 ′ S 129 ° 38 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 66.567 ° S 129.633 ° E ﻿ / - 66.567 ; 129.633 ﻿ ( Antarctica ) Antarctica -- Wilkes Land Territory claimed by Australia 66 ° 34 ′ S 136 ° 0 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 66.567 ° S 136.000 ° E ﻿ / - 66.567 ; 136.000 ﻿ ( Antarctica ) Antarctica -- Adélie Land Territory claimed by France 66 ° 34 ′ S 138 ° 56 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 66.567 ° S 138.933 ° E ﻿ / - 66.567 ; 138.933 ﻿ ( Southern Ocean ) Southern Ocean 66 ° 34 ′ S 162 ° 44 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 66.567 ° S 162.733 ° E ﻿ / - 66.567 ; 162.733 Balleny Islands -- Borradaile Island Territory claimed by New Zealand 66 ° 34 ′ S 162 ° 45 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 66.567 ° S 162.750 ° E ﻿ / - 66.567 ; 162.750 ﻿ ( Southern Ocean ) Southern Ocean Passing just north of Adelaide Island ( claimed by Argentina, Chile and United Kingdom ) 66 ° 34 ′ S 65 ° 44 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 66.567 ° S 65.733 ° W ﻿ / - 66.567 ; - 65.733 ﻿ ( Antarctica ) Antarctica -- Antarctic Peninsula, Graham Land and Larsen Ice Shelf Territory claimed by Argentina, Chile and United Kingdom 66 ° 34 ′ S 60 ° 21 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 66.567 ° S 60.350 ° W ﻿ / - 66.567 ; - 60.350 ﻿ ( Southern Ocean ) Southern Ocean Passing through the Weddell Sea and into an unnamed part of the ocean See also Antarctica portal Antarctic Convergence Obliquity of the Ecliptic Tropic of Cancer Tropic of Capricorn References Jump up ^ `` Obliquity of the Ecliptic ( Eps Mean ) ''. Neoprogrammics.com. Retrieved 2014 - 05 - 13. Jump up ^ Berger, A.L. ( 1976 ). `` Obliquity and Precession for the Last 5000000 Years ''. Astronomy and Astrophysics. 51 : 127 -- 135. Bibcode : 1976A&A... 51... 127B. Jump up ^ Burn, Chris. The Polar Night ( PDF ). The Aurora Research Institute. Retrieved 28 September 2015. Jump up ^ BBC website, accessed Jan 3, 2016 Jump up ^ William M. Marsh ; Martin M. Kaufman ( 2012 ). Physical Geography : Great Systems and Global Environments. Cambridge University Press. p. 24. ISBN 978 - 0 - 521 - 76428 - 5. External links Antarctic circle org Map Circles of latitude / Meridians Equator Tropic of Cancer Tropic of Capricorn Arctic Circle Antarctic Circle Equator Tropic of Cancer Tropic of Capricorn Arctic Circle Antarctic Circle Equator Tropic of Cancer Tropic of Capricorn Arctic Circle Antarctic Circle W 0 ° E 30 ° 60 ° 90 ° 120 ° 150 ° 180 ° 30 ° 60 ° 90 ° 120 ° 150 ° 180 ° 5 ° 15 ° 25 ° 35 ° 45 ° 55 ° 65 ° 75 ° 85 ° 95 ° 105 ° 115 ° 125 ° 135 ° 145 ° 155 ° 165 ° 175 ° 5 ° 15 ° 25 ° 35 ° 45 ° 55 ° 65 ° 75 ° 85 ° 95 ° 105 ° 115 ° 125 ° 135 ° 145 ° 155 ° 165 ° 175 ° 10 ° 20 ° 40 ° 50 ° 70 ° 80 ° 100 ° 110 ° 130 ° 140 ° 160 ° 170 ° 10 ° 20 ° 40 ° 50 ° 70 ° 80 ° 100 ° 110 ° 130 ° 140 ° 160 ° 170 ° 0 ° 10 ° 20 ° 30 ° 40 ° 50 ° 60 ° 70 ° 80 ° 90 ° 10 ° 20 ° 30 ° 40 ° 50 ° 60 ° 70 ° 80 ° 90 ° 5 ° N 15 ° 25 ° 35 ° 45 ° 55 ° 65 ° 75 ° 85 ° 5 ° S 15 ° 25 ° 35 ° 45 ° 55 ° 65 ° 75 ° 85 ° 45x90 45x90 45x90 45x90 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Antarctic_Circle&oldid=788568592 '' Categories : Lines of latitude Geography of Antarctica Antarctic region Hidden categories : Lists of coordinates Geographic coordinate lists Articles with Geo Talk Contents About Wikipedia Asturianu Azərbaycanca Беларуская Беларуская ( тарашкевіца ) ‎ Български Català Čeština Eesti Ελληνικά Español Euskara فارسی Français Frysk Gaeilge Galego 贛 語 한국어 हिन्दी Ilokano Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Latina Latviešu Lietuvių Magyar Македонски मराठी Bahasa Melayu Монгол Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk nynorsk Occitan Português Română Русский Саха тыла Scots Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska తెలుగు ไทย Türkçe Українська اردو Tiếng Việt Walon Winaray 吴语 粵語 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 2 July 2017, at 04 : 43. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: when does the antarctic circle have 24 hours of daylight
Answer: summer solstice