how can alaska get 24hour sun in the summer and antarctica get 24hour sun in the summer??

Question

how does this make sense??

Answer 1

The question mentions two important time periods:

        day      ["24 hour"]

       year      ["summer" and "winter"]

 

Now, we must add two very important concepts:

     rotate =  spin;   planet Earth spins one time around each day

     revolve = move around;  planet Earth moves in an orbit around our Sun once each year

 

If the axis of the Earth's spinning were the same as the axis of its orbit, then each position on the surface of the Earth would see see the Sun travel the same path each day [even though it is them, not the Sun that is "traveling"].

 

Now, the very important point:  The two axes are different.  The Earth rotates on an angle that is roughly 23° tilted from a line that is perpendicular to the plane of the Earth's orbit.  Picture this like spinning a coin on a table:  as long as the coin is spinning rapidly, it continues to spin, but when it slows down, it tilts (axis for spinning changes), and it moves in a circle (much like an orbit) as it slows down.

 

Because the Earth is "tilted" as it rotates, a person on the surface of the Earth sees four seasons each year.  The Sun appears to have a path that is higher or lower in the sky during each season.  They would see the sun more in their Summer season and less in their Winter season [You did know that when it is Summer in North America it is Winter in South America and vice versa, right?].

 

Just go further north or further south.  At the extremes of the poles, the person sees the sun all day and all night [24-hour sum] or else has darkness all day and all night [24-hour night], depending on whether the Earth is currently tilted toward or away from the Sun.

 

Oh, yes, we need to define:

      Summer - the season of the year with the most sunshine

      Winter - the season of the year with the least sunshine

 

So -- When Alaska has summer, Antarctica has winter.  When Antarctica has summer, Alaska has winter.  A person in each area would see the most sun in their own "Summer."   [But, of course, when one has summer the other has winter.]