Joanna Lumley in the Land of the Northern Lights

[frogesque]

What would be different to cause the rarer colours?

Just to add to what Chris Knight has said:

Try this page which has a reasonably simple explananation of the different colours and at what level in the atmosphere they are produced.

http://ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu/211.fall2000.w...roraColors.html

[❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️]

Yep this looks interesting I havn`t seen a programn about northern lights before.

I`ve seen them last time was on april 11th 2001 which seems along while ago now.

Wow, i thought northern lights in the UK was like a 1 in 50 year event.

I would really love to see the northern lights.

Apparantly they are difficult to film because of the darkness and they aren't as bright as anything would be in the daytime. This is perhaps why they dont look 100% real?

BBC iplayer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00dhv1n/b00dhtx0/

Edited September 11, 2008 by RAIN RAIN RAIN

[frogesque]

Wow, i thought northern lights in the UK was like a 1 in 50 year event.

I would really love to see the northern lights.

Apparantly they are difficult to film because of the darkness and they aren't as bright as anything would be in the daytime. This is perhaps why they dont look 100% real?

BBC iplayer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00dhv1n/b00dhtx0/

My pic of 14 Dec 2006, just north of Aberdeen

[Cookie]

very nice image mate.

I would love to see the northen lights at some point

[0000]

very nice image mate.

I would love to see the northen lights at some point

I would've thought you'd be idealy positioned cooks?

[opplevelse]

Aurora Borealis are relatively rare here in Oslo, although we do get them once or twice a year on average. My work takes my up north fairly often, though, and I see them regularly in Tromsø and Hammerfest during winter.

From about now you will begin to see them as it is getting dark enough. Before September it is really still too light to see anything. two key ingredients to see the Northern lights are, 1) Clear skies 2) New moon

The second is very important as even a quarter moon will swamp them.

The other thing is that currently the sun is at the bottom of its cycle and is very very quiet. You only get a few really "active" days a month if you are lucky.

There are a few people on www.scandinavianweather.com who follow the Northern Lights fairly closely (I am one of them). They truly are a sight to behold, and you don’t really get sick of them. Accom in Tromsø is cheap, but Hammerfest is better as there are less city lights. Even better, go to Tromsø and take the Arctic steamer trip and then it is pitch black!

Some links to Aurora sites are here:

http://www.scandinavianweather.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=8

Feel free to join up and ask any questions, we only have a few members but we are passionate!

James

Edited September 15, 2008 by opplevelse

[Cookie]

I would've thought you'd be idealy positioned cooks?

I don't think im far north enough

[Cookie]

finally got round to watching this,

a good program

[opplevelse]

I don't think im far north enough

You are only 2 or 3 degrees south of Oslo, so I am sure that you would see them on an active day. I have seen them in Melbourne Australia, and that is at 40deg S.!

[MAF]

Never seen the lights, but i did see Joanna Lumley in our building the other weekend. she was filming something or other here in the corridors of the Old Admiralty Building

Edited September 19, 2008 by Mick

[Cookie]

You are only 2 or 3 degrees south of Oslo, so I am sure that you would see them on an active day. I have seen them in Melbourne Australia, and that is at 40deg S.!

how oftern do we get a clear night mind you

[Snowyowl9]

I believe it is due to different ion species in the ionosphere. The further south, the deeper the troposphere, and the higher the ionosphere, and the ion mix is different from the less elevated polar ionosphere. Oxygen and nitrogen are the commonest earth gases, but the ionosphere also gets hydrogen ions and helium from the extended solar atmosphere.

I have only seen a vivid aurora in the UK once, in March 1987, in Humberside, but the whole sky was in motion with reds, greens and blue-white streams during the display, with a circular corona apparently south of the zenith. This was despite village streetlamps and a gibbous moon, which, with the stars, shone brightly through the display. The speed of the sheets of light coming towards all horizons was like a blizzard or intense rainstorm, but silent. However, it was impossible not to imagine that it was making some sound, like white noise, as the sheets sped down. Never to be forgotten.

There was no display in march 1987 not as I could see as after the march 1986 one first one I saw one of the best, I looked every night that month 1987 march but there was nothing I was dissapointed.

March 1989 sounds exactly like the one you saw and yeah there was a gibbous month aswell that was a once in a lifetime display and one of the highlights ever for me I`ve seen as they could see that in africa and it knocked out a few satelite dishes out. :o

[Coopsy]

I obviously didnt get to see the prgram but where the colours a bright green and violet? Some spectacular northern lights have been seen here in Canada and it doesnt loko real to watch, they are amazing

[West is Best]

Regrettably we turned off after 10 minutes, having really looked forward to it. The docu seemed so breathlessly 'old gal guides' that the normally lovely Joanna Lumley seemed irritating to us. The programme lacked any clear narrative coherence at the outset too. The fact that she seemed to try to portray herself as 'alone in the wilderness' when she'd only just passed half way up Norway was laughable.

Edited September 23, 2008 by La Nina

[opplevelse]

... 'alone in the wilderness' when she'd only just passed half way up Norway was laughable.

I havent seen the show, but have you ever been to Norway? It is not like the UK, North of Tromsø is empty!

Have you been to Australia? Half way up Australia from Adelaide is pretty empty too!

The comment "when she'd only just passed half way up Norway" is not consistent with having a go at her for saying she was "alone in the wilderness" ...

[West is Best]

Have you been to Australia? Half way up Australia from Adelaide is pretty empty too!

No but I've been to that part of Norway.

I havent seen the show, but have you ever been to Norway? It is not like the UK, North of Tromsø is empty!

The comment "when she'd only just passed half way up Norway" is not consistent with having a go at her for saying she was "alone in the wilderness" ...

Ya but she was making out she was the only human being ... whilst all the while sitting on a passenger train! It was laughable. It's not the wilderness that she was attempting to portray, but then anyone venturing into that genre of tv these days faces a similar struggle. She was clearly trying to relive a story book about the penguin that she read 50 years ago, when the world was a very, very, different place.

Edited September 23, 2008 by La Nina

[opplevelse]

No but I've been to that part of Norway.

Ya but she was making out she was the only human being ... whilst all the while sitting on a passenger train! It was laughable. It's not the wilderness that she was attempting to portray, but then anyone venturing into that genre of tv these days faces a similar struggle. She was clearly trying to relive a story book about the penguin that she read 50 years ago, when the world was a very, very, different place.

Hmmm maybe I need to watch the show then, but the areas North of Tromsø are almost wlderness, particullarly if you venture a little way from the coast. I am up there about 4 to 6 times a year ... it is a lovely part of the world.

[johnholmes]

you are too much of a cynic Richard.

I saw the whole programme so feel able to make comment.

I have also been as far as the town of Kerkenes in the far north of Norway, including the Lofoten Islands and the North Cape. Its a truly beautiful coastline, which I saw in summer, so I was very envious of the portrayal in winter.

I do have some reservation about just when the Aurora was filmed and her standing in what appeared total darkness. Not what I've experienced myself when Ive seen them on two occasions. However the interplay between her and Norwegians was real enough, along with the truly stunning filming of the Norwegian winter landscape. I felt and her/directors portrayal of her life time ambition also.

Very enjoyable programme I assure you, you should have watched the programme, if the sound annoyed you both, the visual impact in silence would have been something you would remember in a positive way I am certain.

Edited September 23, 2008 by johnholmes