How Do You Tell Time at the North Pole?

[Sanket Karnik]

Hey guys, can anyone please tell me how to calculate time on the north pole? will there be any local time on north pole?

 

[KingNothing]

No particular time zone has been officially assigned. Polar expeditions may use any time zone that is convenient, such as GMT, or the time zone of the country they departed from.

 

[tiny-tim]

Welcome to PF!

Hi Sanket Karnik! Welcome to PF!

Hey guys, can anyone please tell me how to calculate time on the north pole? will there be any local time on north pole?

Local time at the north pole is undefined, exactly as the polar coordinate θ is undefined at the origin.

 

[Bill_K]

For the South Pole see here: http://www.worldtimezone.com/time-antarctica24.php

 

[russ_watters]

Local time at the north pole is undefined, exactly as the polar coordinate θ is undefined at the origin.

I'm ok with that but there nevertheless is another way to look at it:

Local noon is when the sun is due south. Since the sun is always due south when you are looking from the north pole, it is always noon!

 

[DrGreg]

Noon is halfway between sunrise and sunset, i.e. 21 June. Midnight is halfway between sunset and sunrise, i.e. 21 December. So one month of calendar time is two hours of local time.

 

[Borek]

Technically it is very difficult to be exactly on the north pole, as it is just an imaginary point. Step here, step there, and you are in a different time zone.

 

[russ_watters]

Noon is halfway between sunrise and sunset...

That's actually not generally true, due to the tilting of the ecliptic.

 

[pallidin]

Technically it is very difficult to be exactly on the north pole, as it is just an imaginary point...

Santa Clause would disagree.

 

[Borek]

Santa Clause would disagree.

Santa Claus doesn't live at North Pole, that's just a fairy tale. I have seen his house in Rovaniemi last year, and didn't heard he moved since then.

 

[pallidin]

Santa Claus doesn't live at North Pole, that's just a fairy tale. I have seen his house in Rovaniemi last year, and didn't heard he moved since then.

Ah yes, the mortgage crisis. Forgot about that. Thanks.

 

[sophiecentaur]

Hey guys, can anyone please tell me how to calculate time on the north pole? will there be any local time on north pole?

On the plus side, it can always be opening time.