As winter solstice grows nigh, Alaskans throughout our vast state will experience varying amounts of minimum daylight. Alaskans might see the sun on the solstice, but we probably won't feel it. Radiation from the sun, our closest star at 93 million miles away, comes to us in parallel rays. Solar intensity is not felt much at high latitudes because the sun's rays cover a much greater surface area near the poles than they do near the equator due to the curvature of the earth. That curve also means the sun's rays need to travel through more of the earth's atmosphere to reach Alaska, which further dilutes the solar radiation reaching our state.
Optimists see through the darkness and celebrate the winter solstice as a new beginning.
As the earth begins its slow nod back toward the sun, a six-minute increase in daylight each day is scheduled to hit Interior Alaska in late January. This increase will stay fairly consistent until the summer solstice.