Category: Nature

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Aurora Labs Nature Science Weather

Legacy Activity: The Secrets of Weather

The Secrets of Weather - Weather Forecasting course
The Secrets of Weather - Weather Forecasting course

At Aurora Labs, my passion for science and nature runs deep. While I’ve streamlined my tour packages to offer a more focused experience for my guests, I believe that knowledge should always be accessible. This activity is no longer offered as part of Aurora Labs tours, but I am proud to share its description as a legacy of my educational offerings. This post serves as an archive for one of my most unique legacy activity: “The Secrets of Weather” meteorology course. I’m happy to keep the content here for anyone who wants to learn more about the fascinating world of weather forecasting.

The Secrets of Weather

  • Understand weather from scratch
  • Learn the basic weather concepts
  • Learn to interpret nature’s signs and to forecast the weather
  • Identify clouds and predict their evolution
  • Experiment weather at small scale
  • Impress your friends when you forecast weather yourself

Would you like to understand how weather works? Learn to make your own weather forecasts just by looking at nature’s signs. Or why not understand what they’re talking about on TV, during weather forecasts – fronts, low and high pressure, cyclones and anticyclones, winds… Learn to identify clouds for your next cloudspotting session and know how weather will change just by looking at them! Initiate yourself in Weather forecasting through simple experiments and with simple explanations.

Have you ever wondered how they are predicting weather on TV? Have you been fascinated by all that weather talk you’ve been hearing – such as anti-cyclones, prevailing winds, weather fronts, air masses…? Now is your chance to understand all of that! And everything through simple experiments that we will do and explain together.

I will teach you how to identify clouds, and thus to impress your friends when you will predict, in advance, that rain or a storm will be coming! Stratus, cirrus, cumulonimbus – all will start having a meaning for you, and you will be the best during your next cloud spotting session.

How to predict weather just by looking at nature? You will know how to answer this question and plenty of others, and you will know how to explain it!

Weather is amazing! Understanding how it works, and especially how to forecast it by yourself with nature’s signs – is just overwhelming!

  • Period: All year round
  • Start time: Announced later
  • Departure from: Your accommodation in Varanger
  • Duration: About 3h
  • Nr. participants: Private group (1-4)
  • Difficulty: Easy
Categories
Aurora Labs Nature Science Universe

Legacy Activity: Cloud Spotting Under the Midnight Sun

Cloud spotting under the midnight sun
Cloud spotting under the midnight sun

At Aurora Labs, my passion for science and nature runs deep. While I’ve streamlined my tour packages to offer a more focused experience for my guests, I believe that knowledge should always be accessible. This activity is no longer offered as part of Aurora Labs tours, but I am proud to share its description as a legacy of my educational offerings. This post serves as an archive for one of my most unique legacy activity: “Cloud Spotting under the Midnight Sun”. I’m happy to keep the content here for anyone who wants to learn more about the fascinating world of cloudspotting.

Cloud Spotting Under the Midnight Sun

  • Discover clouds from a different perspective
  • Learn to name clouds and predict what weather they bring
  • Discover the Midnight Sun scientifically
  • If clouds permit, see the Sun and its sun spots with a telescope
  • Have a snack and a drink right under the Midnight Sun
  • Take beautiful pics of the Arctic wilderness in summer

Do this activity with me and you’ll just love clouds after that, I promise! Clouds are much more than just something that bring bad weather or that cover Auroral displays. They can be used to predict weather and there’s a whole science behind them. And when you see them illuminated by the Midnight Sun here in the Arctic, that’s even better! Discover clouds like you’ve never done before, learn to name them and to predict what weather they bring, and (scientifically) observe the Sun in all its beauty.

Do you find clouds bad messengers for nasty weather, or a cover that stops you from seeing the Northern Lights? I promise that you will rethink this, once you carry out this activity with me up here in the Arctic! Clouds are much more than that! And they’re just beautiful!

This activity is centred around clouds and the Midnight Sun. We’ll start by finding a nice spot where to lay down and look at the clouds, in the light of the Midnight Sun (a bit before midnight though!) To better understand these phenomena, we will carry out fun experiments. Then it’s time to learn to name the clouds, and to understand what these different cloud types mean and bring along.

If the weather permits, we’ll then focus ourselves a bit on the Sun, which is shining this period around the clock here in the Arctic summer. We will observe it with a telescope and we will try to decrypt its mysteries together! The Sun is a star, exactly like the other millions of stars out there, so why not look at it with a telescope*, too? We must, however, use a special filter (called a solar filter) to observe it, as it is so close to us. Never look at the Sun directly without using special protection!

We’ll then conclude the activity with some snacks and drinks right here in the wilderness, right under the Midnight Sun, and try to take some nice photos of the sky, right in the middle of the Arctic landscape.

  • Period: From May 16 to July 27
  • Start time: Evenings
  • Departure from: Your accommodation in Varanger
  • Duration: About 3h
  • Nr. participants: Private group (1-4)
  • Difficulty: Easy
Categories
Nature Science Stargazing Universe

The Perseids Meteor Shower

A meteor shower in the Night sky
A meteor shower in the Night sky

You can start preparing for an amazing stargazing event: the Perseids meteor shower! The event has already started in mid-July, and can still be observed until the 24th of August. Its peak will occur on August 12, so make sure you organize a stargazing session soon! Thus, if the weather is clear and the nights are dark – make sure you go out somewhere and look up in the night sky, in the direction of the Perseus constellation!

What is a meteor shower?

A meteor shower on Earth usually occurs when our planet’s path intersects with the orbit of a comet. When a comet approaches the Sun, some of its ice vaporizes, leaving behind a stream of dust and debris, called a “dust trail” (which is different from a comet’s tail). When such debris – called meteoroids or micrometeoroids, in function of the size, and which is most of the time the size of a grain of sand -, enters Earth’s atmosphere at very high speeds (typically 70 km/s), it heats up because of the friction with the air in the atmosphere, which causes the particles to light up and glow. This streak of light crossing the night sky is called a meteor, or shooting star. So no, a shooting star is not a real “star” 😉

Meteors

Meteors usually occur in Earth’s atmosphere at an altitude of above 50 km, and under 100 km. The glow can be fainter and shorter for smaller particles and it becomes brighter and longer as the size of the particle increases. The colour of a meteor can also vary, in function of the chemical composition of the particle!

And, by the way, a meteor that doesn’t burn up and which finally hits Earth’s surface, is called a meteorite!

Radiant

What is very interesting is the fact that the meteor particles in a meteor shower originate from a point called the radiant, and are all travelling in parallel paths. But if we look at the sky, we see the meteors radiate in all directions. So how can this be? This is the effect of perspective! For example, if you sit in the middle of a straight railroad track and you look along it, you see that the two tracks converge at a single point, somewhere far away. This is exactly what happens with meteors in a meteor shower, but the effect is a lot more intense, due to the great distances where the meteor shower occurs!

The two parallel tracks seem to converge at a single point.

The Perseids

Concerning the Perseids now, you should also know that meteor showers are named in function of the constellation where they originate. So, the Perseids seem to originate in the constellation of Perseus, hence their name! The same goes for another well-known meteor shower: the Lyrids, which seem to originate in the constellation Lyra.

Moreover, the Perseids is a predictable event – that is, they occur because of the crossing of Earth’s path with the orbit of the Swift-Tuttle comet, which was last visible from Earth in 1992 (and will next be visible in 2126!). The intersection of Earth with Swift-Tuttle’s orbit occurs each year around July-August, thus, the Perseid meteor shower is then expected!

So, what should you do?

Go outside, away from big cities. Ideally, avoid any source of nearby lighting, including your car’s lights or your phone’s screen. Make, of course, sure that the sky is clear of clouds and try to find the Perseus constellation. To do this, guide yourself with bright stars (with lower magnitudes), such as the Big Dipper asterism and the Cassiopeia constellation: imagine a very thick line between the two and look just below this line, towards the “W”-shaped Cassiopeia. There will be Perseus, and the Perseids will seem to originate from there.

Best is to use your own eyes to see, in order to have a larger field of view, thus no binoculars or telescopes. And make sure you let your eyes adapt to the darkness first! And then comfortably sit somewhere and just look at the sky and let the show begin!

Categories
Nature Science Universe

The Polar Day

The Midnight Sun shines 24/24h during the polar day
The Midnight Sun shines 24/24h during the polar day

Regions way above the Polar Circle, in the High Arctic, have already started to experience the polar day. Other Arctic regions are going to experience the phenomenon in the coming days. In Vadsø, the polar day already started on May 17 this year, and the Midnight Sun has been visible since, as well.

But what is the polar day?

Earth carries out two types of rotations: one around the Sun, during the course of a year, and the second around its own axis, during 24 hours. At the same time, Earth is inclined in respect with the Sun, at an angle of approximately 23°, and remains tilted at this angle during the whole year.

This means that the Earth is illuminated by the Sun differently during one year. At and around the summer solstice (sometime around 22nd June each year), Earth is inclined in such a way that the North Pole and the region around the North Pole, points towards the Sun, thus it is illuminated more and longer.

Just take a look at the first part of this video from the California Academy of Sciences, and see how Earth is illuminated by the Sun during a whole year.

You can see that the length of the polar day varies in function of latitude: closer you are to the North Pole, longer the polar day is. At the exact location of the North Pole, the polar day lasts no less than 6 months! At lower latitudes, but still above the Arctic Circle, the Sun never sets for a shorter period. The shortest polar day occurs on regions exactly on the Polar Circle (at 66°N), where the Sun never sets for only 1 day, which is exactly the day of the Summer Solstice!

The Midnight Sun

The Midnight Sun is a wonderphul phenomenon. It is what makes the sky bright at “night time” during the polar day, just like the Northern Lights brighten the sky during the dark period. It is a typical Arctic (and Antarctic) phenomenon, which occurs only during the polar day.

As the name suggests, here in the Arctic, the sun is visible in the sky at midnight, as well as the whole night and day, and it never sets below the horizon during this period. In Vadsø, the Midnight Sun will be visible this year until July 26.

And did you know that Aurora Labs has a special activity dedicated to discovering the midnight sun differently? Check it out here!

Regions below the polar circle experience a normal day/night cycle, which varies also in length, in function of the exact latitude.

And, by the way, the opposite of the polar day is the magnificent polar night! Have you ever experienced one or the other?

During the polar day, the Sun never sets below the horizon.
Categories
Nature Science Stargazing Universe

The Lyrids Meteor Shower

Shooting Star
Shooting Star

Stargazers (almost) all around the world, get ready for an amazing stargazing event which starts tomorrow: the Lyrids meteor shower! Keep on reading to discover what a meteor shower is, and to find out how to see the Lyrids and other interesting facts about them! And don’t forget to prepare your wishes – maybe they will get granted, once you see the Lyrids!

What is a meteor shower?

A meteor shower on Earth usually occurs when our planet’s path intersects with the orbit of a comet. When a comet approaches the Sun, some of its ice vaporizes, leaving behind a stream of dust and debris, called a “dust trail” (which is different from a comet’s tail). When such debris – called meteoroids or micrometeoroids, in function of the size, and which is most of the time the size of a grain of sand -, enters Earth’s atmosphere at very high speeds (typically 70 km/s), it heats up because of the friction with the air in the atmosphere, which causes the particles to light up and glow. This streak of light crossing the night sky is called a meteor, or shooting star. So no, a shooting star is not a real “star” 😉

Meteors usually occur in Earth’s atmosphere at an altitude of above 50 km, and under 100 km. The glow can be fainter and shorter for smaller particles and it becomes brighter and longer as the size of the particle increases. The colour of a meteor can also vary, in function of the chemical composition of the particle!

And, by the way, a meteor that doesn’t burn up and which finally hits Earth’s surface, is called a meteorite!

The radiant

What is very interesting is the fact that the meteor particles in a meteor shower originate from a point called the radiant, and are all travelling in parallel paths.

But if we look at the sky, we see the meteors radiate in all directions. So how can this be? This is the effect of perspective! For example, if you sit in the middle of a straight railroad track and you look along it, you see that the two tracks converge at a single point, somewhere far away. This is exactly what happens with meteors in a meteor shower, but the effect is a lot more intense, due to the great distances where the meteor shower occurs!

The two parallel tracks seem to converge at a single point.

The Lyrids

The Lyrids are a meteor shower starting on April 16 and lasting until April 26 every year. This spring, its peak will be on April 22, so make sure you go out around this date, if you’d like to see this meteor shower in all its beauty; weather permitting, of course!

To locate the radiant of the Lyrids, you will need to find the Lyra constellation in the night sky. It’s not so difficult to find it, as Vega, the brightest star of this constellation, is one of the brightest stars in the night sky, with a magnitude of around 0, thus easy to see even in light polluted areas.

One way of easily finding Vega, is by drawing an imaginary line between two stars forming the well-known Big Dipper asterism, as shown in the below image:

Extend this imaginary line in the arrow’s direction, until you reach your first (very) bright star, which will be Vega. Be sure not to extend the line too long, as you will reach another quite bright star – Altair.

However, to see the actual meteor shower, you would need to find a place away from light pollution, as the shooting stars are not as bright as Vega! Their magnitude average somewhere towards the value +2, sometimes culminating with “Lyrids Fireballs”, which is the name given to some brighter meteors of this event. In addition, the Moon may make it more difficult to see this year’s Lyrids, so, if our natural satellite is troublesome, just wait for it to set, before trying to spot the meteor shower.

Naming and predicting meteor showers

Meteor showers are named in function of the constellation where they originate. So, the Lyrids seem to originate in the constellation of Lyra, hence their name!

The source of the dust creating the Lyrids comes from the C/1861 G1 Thatcher Comet – a long-period comet (415 years).

The Lyrids is a predictable event – that is, they occur because of the crossing of Earth’s path with the orbit of the aforementioned comet, which was last visible from Earth in 1861, when it was discovered by A. E. Thatcher (and is expected to be seen again in 2283!). The intersection of Earth with this comet’s orbit occurs each year in April, thus, the Lyrids meteor shower is then expected!

Did you know?

The Lyrids are the oldest reported meteor shower – since 687 BC!