Representation of the midnight sun in Greek and Indian astronomical texts

Abstract

The midnight sun is a fascinating phenomenon observed near the Earth’s poles. Whether it is known through observation or through theory, it is bound to provoke one’s curiosity, since it involves the most familiar object in the sky, viz. the sun. This paper seeks to investigate the various ways in which this phenomenon was understood or considered in ancient literature, focusing on Indian astronomical literature. It is found that some texts primarily describe the phenomena at the poles themselves, while the remaining additionally describe the latitudes at which one would see days that are a few months long. A comparison is made across texts in order to facilitate an understanding of the methods and the accuracy of the texts discussed.