So I haven't seen the Aurora Borealis yet! We are already on SATURDAY 6th
November and there was so much cloud on the first two nights that there "wasn't a chance".
Hope that the whole of the 11 days doesn't get `clouded off' - would be such a shocking
waste of the Arctic's scenery and atmosphere NOT to have any Aurora visibility. In particular,
I'm getting excited about the prospects tonight if visibility is good. NEVER seen it before in
my life, although I've known about it since I was a young lad.
As we approach Rorvik, having crossed the FOLDA (an open-sea stretch - the third
in the journey's six) we entered a narrow `Sound'. This, the Naeroysund Sound, is between
the mainland and the Vikna archipelago ( a collection islands - you `dummy'!!) across which
goes the 700m long Naeroysund Suspension Bridge, Norway's fifth largest (having a central
span of 325m and 41metres maximum above the water). This bridge , plus others , connect
the archipelago of 6000 islands and skerries to the mainland.
The Naeroysund Bridge is just before our arrival in Rorvik and, clearly, the bridge
will have to increase from its 41m as no-one thinks that the Lofoten's mast will go under
neath. The `clearance' would not be much!! If any!!! I stood on deck with a German fellow-
passenger postulating the possible `clearance amount'. As we got closer and closer, we were
convinced that there would be a maximum of six inches clearance - or indeed, we might lose
the mast. As we passed underneath, we could well have been right! It was certainly touch-
and-go!
Looking at my data on the Lofoten, it gives every conceivable figure apart from the
height. I could have sworn that the top 10 feet, or so, was on a telescopically retractable
arrangement, automatically coupled to a bridge-height measuring device. How on earth do
they account for the differences in Sea Level?
Once near Rorvik, the sky became clearer and I got excited about the Aurora
possibilities. However, as soon as we docked, ON came all the lights on all five decks plus
the bridge. The handling of Cargo needs lots of light especially for safety as well as speed -
especially when its as late as this (now around 9pm and over four hours past sunset). Not
a hope in hell of seeing the sky, stars, aurora or anything with those lights on. Even the
Observation Deck was unusable for observations!
Still, not to worry,- this is only a short stop, - we'll be moving on soon!
Like hell we will !! We are three quarters of an hour late due to extra cargo loading
and unloading. At last, after apologies over the speakers in a collection of languages we were
on our way. [ The collection of languages varied with the individual announcer - but normally
all announcements included Norwegian. English & German - and sometimes French -
sometimes appeared as well. If a message was for a specific person - ONLY his or her
language would be broadcast - normally for a crew member or a passenger with a phone call.
Yes, on this Traditional boat, one could receive and dispatch calls & fax all over the world!
From my cabin, close to reception, I would often hear teleprinters in action.]
Leaving the background lights of Rorvik, the sky got darker. Then it became apparent
that some lights in the sky didn't relate to any cloud reflections from the neighbouring towns
etc.. Are these the first glimpses of the Aurora?
Perhaps we had better pause here and consider what the Aurora is and what causes
it -- not everyone will probably know!!
THE AURORA
The sun spews out ionised particles in the telescopically visible solar prominences
(flares) which are associated with sun-spots. These are ejected millions of miles into space
and when the reach the planer Earth (which is like a giant magnet) they stream towards the
North & South Magnetic Poles. The magnetic poles are a short distance from the Geographic
Poles. The more sunspots there are the more particles there are. Sunspot numbers reach a
peak about every 11 years and send vast numbers of these ionised particles that reach the
Polar Regions (North & South) with a high-level entry to the Earth's atmosphere. These
particles, ionise our atmosphere and produce coloured patterns of light that move randomly
in the sky.
It is best seen the more Northerly one is in the Arctic - or more Southerly in the Antarctic.
These particles journey to the Earth in 20 - 40 hours. The illuminations are really about 60
miles , or more, above the Earth.
The Aurora from Tromso.
I could easily see something different about the Aurora (Compared with reflections
in the sky or clouds from town-lights). The green arc of light was about 120 degrees wide
with its centre at the highest altitude. That direction was approximately north (using the Pole-
Star as a reference) with the maximum elevation at about 30 degrees. The sides of the arc
were not of uniform brightness, with two parts, especially, increasing in brightness on a
random basis. The vertical extent of the green band also varied.
The right hand side would jump upwards and change colour with a small curtain-
shaped area of varying colours rapidly changing its vertical extent. Then the left-hand side
performed its own show of varying sizes, shapes and colours.
After watching this display, like an addictive Computer Game in Cinerama, I found
that, in spite of the cold, I could not pull myself away from it - it seemed to have a
personality of its own!! It is with some appreciation that I can understand why some religious
people refer to it as God's paintbrush in the sky.
I, eventually, pulled myself away from it at 23.10 hours - after a fantastic show that
I had waited about 40 years to see!! It is still 6th November - and we cross the Arctic Circle
tomorrow, at, maybe, 7.20 hours depending on winds and tidal currents - and how much of
our Rorvik delay we could recover!
Get some sleep Roy, - or you'll miss that!
I must have slept through Bronnoysund which we were scheduled to leave at 1 a.m.,
but I can remember Sandnessjoen. We left it only 23 minutes late (i.e. 4.38am) having
recovered half the time lost at Rorvik. We must have been travelling quicker AND done more
rapid cargo handling. I then tried to get some more sleep.