A Day in the Arctic Circle
February 14th 2007
by Pete Lawrence

UPDATE March 6th 2007: Photographs from the Tromso trip, February 25th 2007, are now available from here

Early morning on Wednesday, February 14th 2007, a group of around 160 intrepid explorers boarded a plane set for Tromso, the island city in northern Norway. The trip had been organised as a day long excursion to the arctic by Omega Holidays. The official staff members were Rob England (Omega), Peter Truman (Omega), Nigel Bradbury (guest astronomer) and myself as another guest astronomer. After a day spent in the city, two presentations were given at the Polaria building in Tromso - one on the stars and constellations by Nigel and one on the Aurora and its origins by me. Following the talk, everyone had a two hour break in which to eat and prepare for the last part of the tour - a trip up Mount Storsteinen (420m) for a breathtaking view over Tromso at night and hopefully a glimpse of nature's very own light show - the Aurora Borealis.

Breathtaking views on the approach to Tromso Click on the image for more...

Evening twilight Click on the image for more...

The Aurora is a product of charged particles from the Sun causing an interaction with the Earth's atmosphere which results in the Earth's magnetic field being revealed as painted lines of light in the sky. There are many factors that need to come together in order to see it, probably the most basic of which is the weather - if it's cloudy, there's no chance! For this trip, the skies over Tromso couldn't have been clearer. As the day progressed and the Sun set - something that took quite a long time - the beautiful blue vignette that fed all of the way down to the horizon indicated that the weather would not be a problem at all.

Keeping an eye on the Sun before the trip (enhanced solar activity raises the probability that an auroral display will occur), it was evident that on the day of our visit, the sunspot count would be zero - and it doesn't get any lower than that! Fortunately the solar wind - a constant stream of charged particles from the Sun - had been enhanced by the presence of a coronal hole. Despite the poor sunspot number the chances of a display were good. As soon as darkness fell, it was evident that there was auroral activity going on. Three bands of pulsing green light were seen from within the city itself - one in the north, one in the south and one overhead. As we all set of for something to eat before the cable car ride up Mount Storsteinen, anticipation was high. On arrival at the top of the mountain, the activity intensified and, despite the cold (-9C with a wind chill taking it down to -21C) the views were breathtaking... A link to an image from the trip can also be found on the bottom of the NASA Spaceweather website for the 17th and 18th February 2007.

The Northern Lights in all their glory Click on the image for more...

Additional Information Omega Holidays offer various packages to see the Northern Lights including a 3 hour (approximate) flight from various UK airports up to look at the auroral oval. These flights largely remove any concerns over weather interference but still rely on Mother Nature in order to put on a show. This is a unique experience comprising an hours pre-flight lecture on what you're likely to see on board the plane in terms of the stars and the aurora. To date, most flights have seen something of the Aurora Borealis but activity does vary depending on what's happening on the Sun. For more information or to book a place, call Omega on: 01524 37500