South Pole, the Sun, and other fun optics

[B Ozanne]

Ok, everyone knows that in the polar regions you can experience both 24 hours of daylight and darkness. I just wanted to confirm that at both the north and south poles there is only one sunrise and sunset each year...or just one day a year.

So I am at the south pole, standing on my head of course to avoid getting sick and living it up with pure planetary vorticity. I assume that around the spring equinox the sun begins to poke above the horizon. A few days later it rises fully above the horizon and circles around the sky for the next six months before dipping below the horizon for the next six months or so. Is that correct? Or is the sun only fully above the horizon for a days or weeks?

Also, does anybody know of any other cool optical/atmospheric effects like this?

Just to clear things up, standing an egg on its end during the equinox is a myth...you can stand an egg on end any day of the year. You just need a good egg and better balance.

 

[Robert Edmonds]

Another cool thing is that star shift is horizontal to the horizon. I do believe your correct though that for winter it's dark and for summer it's bright for the north pole and opposite for the south.