On Friday, November 5, Astronomy magazine’s group of 15 travelers, led by Melita Thorpe of MWT Associates, carried on our Norwegian vacation in search of aurorae. Although we have thus far been plagued by wet weather as we cruise on the 674-berth MS Midnatsol, we have heard that to the north, away from the rainy areas, observers have spotted fantastic aurorae over the past couple nights.
Vast expanses of the North Atlantic lay stretched out before us on the
ship, in front of the rugged Norwegian coastline, November 5, 2010. David J. Eicher photo
Early yesterday morning we set off from Florø, trekked to Måløy, crossed the Stadhavet — an open stretch of sea — and arrived at Ålesund. This fishing town of 40,000 is highly distinctive because after it burned in 1904, residents rebuilt the city in Art Nouveau style. Boarding the ship once again, I engaged our group and others from the ship at large in a talk on “Astronomy’s new frontier,” updating developments on the size, age, origin, and fate of the universe, along with lots of material on black holes, exoplanets, life in the universe, the dizzyingly large cosmic distance scale, and more.
Our group encountered plenty of rain at the coastal town of Ålesund, a
fishing village of 40,000 that burned in 1904 and was subsequently
rebuilt in Art Nouveau style, November 5, 2010. David J. Eicher photo
We then had a fantastic group dinner, and headed up to see if the sky is clearing.
Remember, you can find photos from our trip at Astronomy.com's Trips and Tours page.
Related blogs:
The quest for aurorae begins
On the road: Norwegian aurorae