The Arctic Home in the Vedas c6.25.1

c6.25.1

To take a concrete instance, let the observer be so stationed that his zenith will be at C, that is, on the extreme northern latitude of the temperate zone. Then his celestial horizon will extend 90° on each side, and will be represented by T'CT, and the sun moving along the ecliptic E'E will be above his horizon, at least for some portion of day, during the whole year. But as the observer passes into the Frigid zone, the sun during his annual course will be altogether below the horizon for some days, and the maximum limit is reached at the North Pole, where the sun is below the horizon for six months. We may, therefore, state that the duration of the night, which is six months at the Pole, is gradually diminished as we come down from the Pole, until, in the temperate zone, the sun is above the horizon, at least, for some time out of twenty-four hours every day. In the foregoing figure let *Z* represent the zenith of an observer within the Arctic regions, then *H'H* will represent his horizon, and the sun in his annual course will, for some time, be altogether below this horizon. For instance, suppose the sun to be at *n*. Then his diurnal circle of rotation will be represented by *nH*, the whole of which is below the horizon *H'H* of the observer whose zenith is *Z*. Therefore, the sun, during his annual course along the ecliptic from *E'* to *n*, and back from *n* to *E'*, will be invisible to an observer whose zenith is *Z*.