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The Midnight Sun
In summer at the North Pole the Sun
does not set for six months. It moves
across the sky and is never out of sight.
Only your watch will tell you if it is
midday or midnight. During the same
six months, the Sun never rises in the
South Pole. It is in permanent darkness.
For the other six months of the year the
situation is reversed.
Introduction
P
ytheas set out over 2,000 years ago to find new lands to the north.
This early map shows the land he reached, which was probably Iceland.
Early Explorers
Over 2,000 years ago Greek scholars described the world
with a freezing north, which they called Arktos. They
believed that if there was a cold north, there must be
a cold south. This they named the Antarktos (
ante
in Greek means opposite). A Greek trader, Pytheas,
sailed north and was said to have reached
Iceland, but the sea further north was all
ice. He was looking for new lands
with which to trade. Finding new ways
to trade goods was a major reason
for the start of exploration.
P
ythagoras was a Greek scholar
who believed that the Earth was
round. He thought the North Pole
was a frozen land.
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