Alaska sunlight on the summer solstice

Ever wonder what it looks like in Alaska at 3 a.m. on June 21st? Keeping in mind that pictures from an iPhone are darker than the actual conditions, especially in lower light conditions, here's a picture from my iPhone at 3:40 a.m. on the morning of June 21, 2010:

Alaska sunlight on the summer solstice - June 21, 2010

 

(You can click through that image to see the full-size image if desired.)

I thought I had some wonderful photos of the drive from Anchorage to Wasilla from around 2:30 a.m., but with the iPhone they ended up coming out much darker than it really was, and I didn't want to lighten them artifically, so this photo from 3:40 a.m. will have to do. Suffice it to say that it wasn't necessary to drive with my car headlights on, although I did.

With the summer solstice occurring yesterday we're currently getting 24 hours of "visible sunlight", even here in what is essentially south-central Alaska, which is very cool. It was a lot of fun to stay up with a friend during the night, and see it get darker, without ever getting dark, and then turn around and get lighter.