Scenes from the Anthropocene: Polar Paradox Pt. 2

Sunset as seen from the Arctic island of Tromsøya in late January. (Photo: copyright Tom Yulsman) I was lucky enough this past January to witness an event that happens only once a year in the Arctic: the return of the Sun after a long winter absence. And as the picture above suggests, it was stunningly beautiful. I took the picture on January 20 from the top of Tromsøya island, on which most of the city of Tromsø, Norway sits. The sun appeared in a gap between distant jagged mountains for what seemed like less than a minute, and then vanished once again.