Polar Night 2026 in Utqiagvik, Alaska: Last Sunset Nov. 18, Sun Returns Jan. 23, 2027

Utqiagvik, Alaska, has its last sunset of 2026 on Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 1:42 p.m., and the sun does not rise again until Saturday, Jan. 23, 2027, at 1:03 p.m., according to the U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO). In between lie 65 days with no sunrise. All times here are in Alaska Standard Time (AKST, UTC-9), computed for Utqiagvik at 71.2906 N, 156.7886 W. The town was formerly called Barrow.

The tables below show the daily countdown to the last sunset and a December daylight comparison with Fairbanks, Anchorage and Juneau. A printable tracker is at the bottom.

When is the last sunset and the first sunrise in Utqiagvik?

Date	Sunrise	Sunset	Sun above the horizon
Sun., Nov. 1, 2026	10:16 a.m.	4:04 p.m.	5 h 48 m
Sun., Nov. 8	11:00 a.m.	3:21 p.m.	4 h 21 m
Sun., Nov. 15	11:58 a.m.	2:24 p.m.	2 h 26 m
Mon., Nov. 16	12:09 p.m.	2:13 p.m.	2 h 4 m
Tue., Nov. 17	12:23 p.m.	2:00 p.m.	1 h 37 m
Wed., Nov. 18 (last sunset)	12:42 p.m.	1:42 p.m.	1 h 0 m
Nov. 19, 2026 to Jan. 22, 2027	none	none	0
Sat., Jan. 23, 2027 (first sunrise)	1:03 p.m.	2:16 p.m.	1 h 13 m
Sun., Jan. 24	12:47 p.m.	2:33 p.m.	1 h 46 m
Mon., Feb. 1	11:35 a.m.	3:47 p.m.	4 h 12 m

Durations are computed from the USNO rise and set times. USNO’s wording for the stretch in the middle is “Object continuously below the Horizon.” Sunrise and sunset mark the upper edge of the sun, with refraction, which is USNO’s standard.

The loss is steep at the end. From Nov. 15 to Nov. 18 the sun’s time above the horizon falls from 2 hours 26 minutes to 1 hour. The count of 65 days is Nov. 19 to 30 (12 days), December (31 days) and Jan. 1 to 22 (22 days).

Is Utqiagvik completely dark during polar night?

No. USNO’s data for Dec. 21, 2026, the winter solstice, shows no sunrise but civil twilight from 11:56 a.m. to 2:55 p.m., about 3 hours. On Jan. 22, 2027, the day before the sun returns, civil twilight runs from 10:38 a.m. to 4:41 p.m. On Nov. 18, the last sunset day, it runs from 10:08 a.m. to 4:16 p.m. For the solstice itself, see our story on the winter solstice 2026 and sunset times.

How much daylight do Fairbanks, Anchorage and Juneau get in December?

Utqiagvik has none from Nov. 19 on. The three cities below keep a sunrise every day on the dates shown, from USNO times for each city’s coordinates (Fairbanks 64.8378 N, 147.7164 W; Anchorage 61.2181 N, 149.9003 W; Juneau 58.3019 N, 134.4197 W).

Date	Utqiagvik	Fairbanks	Anchorage	Juneau
Sun., Nov. 1	5 h 48 m	7 h 48 m	8 h 29 m	8 h 54 m
Sun., Nov. 15	2 h 26 m	6 h 16 m	7 h 15 m	7 h 50 m
Tue., Dec. 1	none	4 h 40 m	6 h 5 m	6 h 53 m
Mon., Dec. 21	none	3 h 42 m	5 h 27 m	6 h 22 m
Fri., Jan. 1, 2027	none	4 h 1 m	5 h 39 m	6 h 32 m

Fairbanks on Dec. 21 has sunrise at 10:58 a.m. and sunset at 2:40 p.m. Anchorage has 10:14 a.m. and 3:41 p.m., and Juneau 8:45 a.m. and 3:07 p.m. By Jan. 23, 2027, Fairbanks has 10:04 a.m. to 4:02 p.m., about 5 hours 58 minutes. On Nov. 18, when Utqiagvik has its last sunset, Fairbanks has 9:38 a.m. to 3:34 p.m.

What changes when Alaska clocks fall back on Nov. 1?

Alaska clocks move from Alaska Daylight Time back to AKST at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s daylight saving time page. The Nov. 1 times above are already in AKST. In Utqiagvik the sun is up from 10:16 a.m. to 4:04 p.m. that day. For the national picture, read our sunset times after the clock change and daylight saving time ends Nov. 1 stories, or the guide to when daylight saving time ends.

Will the polar night dates be the same next year?

The dates shift by a day or so from year to year, so use these as 2026-2027 dates only. The dates here come from USNO’s one-day tables for 2026 and 2027, not from a rule of thumb.

Printable polar night tracker

The free printable lists the six dates worth marking: the clock change, the last sunset, the first day without a sunrise, the solstice, the last day without a sunrise and the first sunrise. Mark the 65 days on our November and December 2026 printable calendars.