वेदों की प्राचीनता एवं काल-निर्णय / ओरायन (लोकमान्य बाल गंगाधर तिलक - खगोलीय वैदिक शोध)

THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 47
continuous morning and evening in the year, and one day and
one night of six months each, are thus the chief special features
of the calendar at the North Pole.
We have stated that to an observer at the North Pole,
there will be a night of 6 months, and one is likely to infer
therefrom that there will be total darkness at the Pole for one
half the portion of the year. Indeed one is likely to contem-
plate with horror, the perils and difficulties of a long night of six
months, during which not only the light but the warmth of
the sun has to be artificially supplied. As a matter of fact,
such a supposition is found to be erroneous. First of all, there
will be the electric discharges, known as Aurora Borealis, filling
the polar night with their charming glories, and relieving its
darkness to a great extent. Then we have the moon, which,
in her monthly revolution, will be above the polar horizon
for a continuous fortnight, displaying her changing phases,
without intermission, to the polar observer. But the chief
cause, which alleviates the darkness of the polar night, is
the twilight before the rising and after the setting of the
sun. With us in the tropical or the temperates zone, this
twilight, whether of morning or evening, lasts only for an hour
or two; but at the Pole this state of things is completely
altered, and the twilight of the annual morning and evening is
each visible for several days. The exact duration of this morning
or evening twilight is, however, still a matter of uncertainty.
Some authorities fix the period at 45 days, while others make
it last for full two months. In the tropical zone, we see the
first beams of the dawn, when the sun is about 16° below the
horizon. But it is said that in higher latitudes the light of the
sun is discernible when he is from 18° to 20° below the horizon.
Probably this latter limit may prove to be the correct one for
the North Pole, and in that case the dawn there will last