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Old 17-06-2018, 10:08 AM
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Aurora trip planning

Hi all,

I'm at the early stages of planning a trip to Scandinavia and I'm looking for some advice on how to maximise the possibility of viewing the aurora.

Currently thinking end October/Early November and considering northern Finland and potentially a stay at Kakslauttanen. I'm trying to weigh up having some daylight for sightseeing activities with having a reasonable chance of viewing the aurora.

Has anyone visited Kakslauttanen? Any other recommended locations? Does anyone know where to find cloud cover history for these areas?
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Old 17-06-2018, 06:04 PM
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RickS (Rick)
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Hi Peter,

We did a Fred Watson tour through Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland, starting at Alta during late Jan & February 2012. I think it's bit of a crap shoot with the weather. Finding local guides that can chase the weather seems worthwhile if you don't have a lot of time and luck. We got 5 good nights in Norway (Lyngen Fjord and Tromso) and didn't see clear skies at all in Iceland.

Cheers,
Rick.
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Old 17-06-2018, 06:15 PM
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Thanks for the response, Rick. I figure it is going to be pot luck, especially with the solar activity on the downward trend. As far north and not too close to the coast seems like the way to go from what I've found so far.
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Old 18-06-2018, 06:38 AM
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I stayed for 10 days in Tromso over the 2016/2017 New Year - and got 3 nights of Aurora, although one was quite cloudy. The weather as Rick mentions is just a major random factor.

We did other things as well while we were there: drove around, including to Finland; snow mobiles and dog sledding; saw the whales migrating through the fjords; experienced the polar night and of course the great NYE experience in Tromso.

That's the key to it - make sure you're going to do other things while you are there. Make a well-rounded trip.
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Old 18-06-2018, 11:21 AM
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I did the Fred Watson tour in 2017. Stay at places were you can walk out from your hotel room and start to observe.
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Old 18-06-2018, 04:18 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lazjen View Post
That's the key to it - make sure you're going to do other things while you are there. Make a well-rounded trip.
Quote:
Originally Posted by thunderchildobs View Post
Stay at places were you can walk out from your hotel room and start to observe.
I think I've got both of those bases covered at Kakslauttanen.

I'm also hoping the location not too close to the coast will have better chance of clear skies?
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Old 18-06-2018, 05:48 PM
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I stayed at a farm stay called Yggdrasiltunet about 60km from Tromsų. The island is called Kvaloya you can drive or bus to the farm.

I wrote a bit of an aurora chasing guide and about the farmstay based on my experiences.

Read about it here :
http://joe-cali.com/eclipses/PAST/TSE2015/aurora.html

Weather Spark has good climate averages including clouds for locations across the whole world and NASA World View lets you view MODIS cloud photo animations for particular dates in previous years as does the Dundee DSRS.

I agree with others that the weather in Scandinavia is a crap shoot but probably better than Iceland. Maria, our host at the farmstay recommended early December for better clear sky. The Fjords around Yggdrasiltunet are beautiful to tour around.

Have fun

Joe
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Old 18-06-2018, 05:57 PM
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Kvaloya - that's where we had our best view of the aurora. And yes, absolutely beautiful area.

As for inland vs sea - it worked the reverse for us, but that just was the weather patterns at the time.

Another thing to consider, if you're basing in one location is the possibility of chasing an aurora - either by driving yourself or with a tour.

Btw, Tromso is further north than your proposed location of Kakslauttanen. We were there in the depths of polar night - the days are still visible enough to do activities - it's like a twilight. Although, of course, you total "daylight hours" are greatly reduced.

Also, no matter which Scandinavian country you choose - expect it to be very expensive.
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Old 19-06-2018, 11:23 AM
HarryD (Greg)
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Hi Peter
I agree with what others have said. Particularly about the weather. There is an exception however. If you don't drink it's not really that expensive in the far north. Also, unlike here,
mobiles and the web seem to work all the time regardless of where you may be. This was true in Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
During my trip in March and April this year I had 1 clear night in Iceland in 2 weeks. On that clear night the Kp index was 2. A lot of info on the net will tell you not to bother if the Kp index is below 4. You can see a couple of my pics in Nightscapes that show that this is not true.
The best advice I can give you from my limited experience is to check a space weather site to find the predicted Kp index and most importantly to go outside and look. The lights, as they are called up there, appear and sweep across the sky and disappear just as quickly.
It is a wonderful experience. I hope you get a few clear nights.
Greg
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Old 19-06-2018, 12:21 PM
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I agree with what others have said. Particularly about the weather. There is an exception however. If you don't drink it's not really that expensive in the far north.
It would depend on when you're there as well I suspect. We found it expensive for just about everything (compared to most other places in Europe we went to), but given it was around the new year/holidays, it's probably not that surprising.
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Old 14-07-2018, 09:37 PM
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Time for an update. We've locked in 4-8 Nov at Kakslauttanen in Northern Finland.

Now looking into photography gear to take along. I've got an Olympus OMD EM10 MKII and I'm looking into some fast wide lens options.

I'm hoping to get some advice on what I'll need including keeping the camera from freezing?
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Old 14-07-2018, 11:47 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by peter_4059 View Post
Time for an update. We've locked in 4-8 Nov at Kakslauttanen in Northern Finland.

Now looking into photography gear to take along. I've got an Olympus OMD EM10 MKII and I'm looking into some fast wide lens options.

I'm hoping to get some advice on what I'll need including keeping the camera from freezing?
Best solution IMO is to use lithium iron disulphide batteries. Rated to keep punching out power down to -40C. Available as AA batteries from Bunnings. My camera worked perfectly at -23C.

Info here
http://joe-cali.com/eclipses/PAST/TS...criptions.html

If you can't get a grip for your camera that takes AA batteries, a less reliable method is to carry several camera batteries, warm them on an inside pocket. Keep cycling the batteries if/as they fail. If the internal resistance of the rechargeable is sufficient, it may keep itself warm if you start shooting immediately .

You can also apply heat to the camera exterior near the battery with chemical hand warmer packs.


Liquid crystal displays can freeze solid and not operate. They are just a display and so the camera can still operate, you just won't know the settings. If the camera is left set wide open and on B you shouldn't need the display.

Cold cameras will immediately condense water and freeze all over on being brought inside unless they are sealed in plastic bags while outside in dry air.

Have fun.

Joe
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Old 15-07-2018, 07:34 AM
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I also used those dessicant packs inside the plastic bags Joe mentions to help reduce moisture. Get some larger ziplock bags to make it easier to seal.
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Old 15-07-2018, 10:01 AM
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Looks like there is no battery grip or external power option for my camera so cycling batteries is probably going to be my best option. Any idea how long I should expect a battery to last? Looks like the night time temperature will be between -2C and -10C.
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Old 16-07-2018, 11:17 PM
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Peter,

That's not too cold. Coastal Norway, Kvaloya, the overnight temps ranged from -12C to -16C. I was thinking inland north Finland, you'd be working much colder, around -15 to -30C.

We get a similar temperature range to your location here around Canberra and in the Snowy mountains. Your camera spec is about 300 frames for your battery. I don't do anything special when shooting in winter. Li Ion rechargeable batteries are ok at those temps providing you start off shooting with a pocket warmed battery. The battery will keep itself warm once it's running the camera.

I had several batteries but didn't need them. My over-heated cabin 30C was 5m away. I set up my gear inside, warm camera, rechargeable battery. I kept my extra batteries in the room. The night of the big aurora storm, I took 210 images over 4-5 hrs on one battery with my Pentax K5. Probably could have shot a lot more. That's not a big ask. In normal temperatures, that K5 shoots about 600 images on one battery if I turn off preview, AF, IS. I see you've locked in new moon. In Autumn on the Arctic, circle, first quarter is almost as dark as new moon. On Nov 15, first quarter moon sets 2.5 hrs after astronomical twilight followed by another 7-8 hrs of darkness, so if the weather doesn't cooperate and you need to stay, your ok for dark sky until Nov 15.

Joe
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