Snowman in Norway and frost in Orange County; Books on Northern Lights and Gamma Ray Bursts; Measuring the neutron star radius with NICER

Greetings from Palmia Observatory

Well we are back in Orange County and find that the cold weather, minus the snow has arrived here too and been here too.  So we will have some final comments about the cruise searching for the northern lights and then, because it is so cold outside, just report on some of the latest books and journal articles.

Some Viking Sky passengers (not us) saw the northern lights; Coursera offers "The Changing Arctic"; South Pole has lights too!; Submarine in Bergen; Enjoying the sights and sounds on the Viking Sky

Greetings from Palmia Observatory,

Well our search for the northern lights along the coast of Norway has come to an end and while we were disappointed about not seeing the lights, some lucky fellow passengers did see the lights!

Nightscape photography with clouds in Borrego Springs; Going south to Bergen; Two Photon Absorption; Is that a submarine?

Greetings from Palmia Observatory

Well our search for the northern lights continues southward along the Norwegian coast and the clouds have not been our friends.

Clouded out at our best available remote dark sky site near Alta; Viking Sky moves to its next port, Narvik; Visit with the Sami shaman

Greeting from Palmia Observatory

So, we are here in Alta and we  faced with bad weather conditions for nighttime observing and the experts select the best available site at Suolovopmi Fjellstue, which is at higher elevation and might escape some of the bad weather.

Arriving at our cruise’s most northerly point in Alta, Norway; Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel; Mostly clear weather forecast, now will the northern lights show up?

Greetings from Palmia Observatory

Well, we finished up our visit to Tromsø and it was time to pack up and head just a little bit further north to Alta.  Here you see our bus pulling up to the ship as we get ready to leave.

Having fun in Tromsø, Norway; Hooray, we saw our first stars (barely), but no lights; Next day forecast for more clouds and snow

Greetings from Palmia Observatory

Well, we are in Tromsø, waiting for the nighttime so we can continue on our search for the northern lights, but first we have to wait for the sun to go down, which gives us time to explore and enjoy the Norwegian countryside.

Hooray, crossed the Arctic Circle; Saw, the moon through the clouds in Bodo, but no lights yet; Is Dark Energy increasing?

Greetings from Palmia Observatory,

Well it has started to snow and our cruise ship is approaching the Arctic Circle.  Our next port of call is at Bodo, Norway, which is  above the Arctic Circle.  But check out these two images of snow on the stairs, going up to the “sun” deck and the snow around the observing telescope.  This is the first time we have been on a cruise where it snowed on us.

Off the coast of Norway, searching for the northern lights; Scenic beauty, but cloudy forecast; Biding time till we cross the Arctic Circle

Greetings from Palmia Observatory

Well , here we are off the coast of Norway, searching for the northern lights.  The skies are cloudy, but it’s fun being at sea.

Never to be seen stars; Angular momentum and selection rules; Bell entanglement test with quasars; Using lasers to shrink accelerators; Is quantum mechanics real?

Greetings from Palmia Observatory

Well we had hoped to get in some dark sky observing this week, but the stormy weather put an end to that, but we have some review comments on three physics lectures that we attended.