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

54 . THE ARCTIC HOME IN THE VEDAS.
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. Corresponding to this total disap-
pearance of the sun for some time, the luminary will be perpe-
tually above the horizon for the same period during his northern
course. For instance, let the sun be at d, then his diurnal circle
of rotation, dH', will be entirely above the horizon H'H, and so
it will continue to be for all the time that the sun moves from
d to E, and back again from E to d, in his annual course.
During this time the sun will neither rise nor set, but will move,
like the circumpolar stars, in oblique circles, round and round
the observer like a wheel. For all positions between n and d,
and the corresponding portion of the ecliptic on the other side,
the sun, in his diurnal course of twenty-four hours, would be
partially above and partially below the horizon, producing ordi-
nary days and nights, as with us, the day being longer than
the night when the sun is in the northern, and the night longer
than the day when the sun is in the southern hemisphere.
Instead of a single day and a single night of six months, the
year, to a person living in the Arctic regions, but not exactly
at the North Pole, will, therefore, be divided into three parts,
one of which will be a long night, one a long day, and
one made up of a succession of days and nights, a single day