New light on Novaya Zemlya polar mirage
JAN 01, 1981
DOI: 10.1063/1.2889961
While seeking a Northeast Passage to the Orient, the explorer Willem Barents and his crew were stranded for the winter at Novaya Zemlya (76°12’N). During the perpetual night of their arctic winter, one noontime in January 1597 the explorers were astonished to see the Sun appear two weeks sooner than expected at that latitude. At the time, the Sun’s actual position was still about 5° below the geometrical horizon.
© 1981. American Institute of Physics
