Now it’s all well and good finding a nice northern location, primed and ready for an aurora show, but as any skywatcher will tell you, the one thing that can put a damper on viewing efforts is … yes you guessed it, a long-time enemy of astronomers … clouds.
Bundled up in more layers than we could count, our tour group shuffled along to the base of Mount Nuolja where a five-course meal at the Aurora Sky Station and a night of skywatching were awaiting us at the summit.
After taking in the stunning view, our tour group funneled ourselves into the Aurora Sky Station where, after the long process of climbing out of our warm overalls, we were able to finally sit down to a delightful five-course “Northern Light Dinner” centered around local produce and traditional flavors.
The group was a little disheartened by the forecast but I chose to put my trust in Abisko’s Blue Hole and hoped that the skies would clear in time for a northern lights show.
After dinner was topped off with a delicious lingonberry parfait, we sat down to an informative and entertaining presentation about the northern lights led by Viktor van Beelen, our Swedish Tourist Association (STF) tour leader.
We set up our cameras in a large clearing in the forest that offered both beautiful mountain views and a cozy yurt containing a roaring fire, the perfect place to warm up and enjoy some hot lingonberry juice.
The original article contains 1,927 words, the summary contains 245 words. Saved 87%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
The Blue Hole of Absiko is a meteorological phenomenon that owes its existence to the jet stream and prevailing winds that blow in from the Arctic Ocean in a westerly direction. The reliability of these stable westerly winds means that for the majority of the aurora season, the wind blows in the same direction over Abisko, creating a prevailing weather pattern known as a microclimate.
When the prevailing winds from the Arctic Ocean meet the tall mountains just over Sweden’s border with Norway, moist air is blocked by the mountains creating a rain shadow above Abisko. This effectively tears a 10-20 square kilometer “Blue Hole” in the clouds above Abisko and provides a window to the stars even on the cloudiest of nights.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Now it’s all well and good finding a nice northern location, primed and ready for an aurora show, but as any skywatcher will tell you, the one thing that can put a damper on viewing efforts is … yes you guessed it, a long-time enemy of astronomers … clouds.
Bundled up in more layers than we could count, our tour group shuffled along to the base of Mount Nuolja where a five-course meal at the Aurora Sky Station and a night of skywatching were awaiting us at the summit.
After taking in the stunning view, our tour group funneled ourselves into the Aurora Sky Station where, after the long process of climbing out of our warm overalls, we were able to finally sit down to a delightful five-course “Northern Light Dinner” centered around local produce and traditional flavors.
The group was a little disheartened by the forecast but I chose to put my trust in Abisko’s Blue Hole and hoped that the skies would clear in time for a northern lights show.
After dinner was topped off with a delicious lingonberry parfait, we sat down to an informative and entertaining presentation about the northern lights led by Viktor van Beelen, our Swedish Tourist Association (STF) tour leader.
We set up our cameras in a large clearing in the forest that offered both beautiful mountain views and a cozy yurt containing a roaring fire, the perfect place to warm up and enjoy some hot lingonberry juice.
The original article contains 1,927 words, the summary contains 245 words. Saved 87%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!