Question

Why are the sun's rays never vertical on the Arctic Circle?

Answer 1

The axis of the Earth is an imaginary line that passes through its centre. This axis is not vertical but is inclined at an angle of 66 .5 degrees with the plane of the Earth’s orbit. Due to this inclination, the Northern Hemisphere remains inclined towards the Sun for half of the year and the Southern Hemisphere remains inclined during the other half. On summer solstice, in the Northern Hemisphere, the midday Sun is vertically overhead the Tropic of Cancer. This is the northernmost latitude till which the midday Sun can reach vertically overhead. Farther north than this, the Sun is never vertically overhead, and that is why the Arctic Circle never experiences the vertically overhead Sun.