Hi there! Have you ever wondered why at the very top and very bottom of the Earth, the sun sometimes stays away for a very long time? Let's talk about the North Pole (top) and the South Pole (bottom) and why the sun doesn’t come up there for about half a year!
The Earth is like a big ball that spins around. But it doesn’t spin straight up and down, it tilts a little—about 23.5 degrees. Because of this tilt, different parts of the Earth get sunlight at different times during the year.
Imagine shining a flashlight on a spinning ball that’s tilted a bit. Sometimes one part gets lots of light, and sometimes very little.
At the Poles, during winter, the Earth is tilted so that these places point away from the sun. That means the sun stays below the horizon, so it looks like it never rises—it's dark all day and all night! This can last for about 6 months!
Then, in summer, the poles tilt towards the sun, so the sun stays above the horizon for about 6 months straight! This means the sun doesn’t set—it stays in the sky all day and all night!
So, the sun doesn’t come up at the poles for half a year because of how the Earth is tilted and moves around the sun. Isn’t that amazing?