Two wintry sunrises Dec 21 2023

From polar night into the solar light

It is crazy – three days ago Annika and I have been in Tromsø in the middle of the mørketid – the polar night – where the sun hasn’t risen for weeks. Two days ago we went to Gällivare in Swedish Lapland by car. Yesterday we continued our way south and crossed the polar circle. The sky was clear and full of colours and then – at 10:23 – we saw the sun ahead. It did not only rise above the horizon but also the forested hills.

The sun was low but we saw it for several hours. That was a great feeling especially for me who haven’t seen the sun for almost a month.

But days are short and already at two o’clock in the afternoon the moon dominated the sky.

Soon it was too dark to take good photos from the moving car. At half past six we arrived at our house in Obbola, where I’ll stay for three to four weeks.

Today I worked from home and could see how it gradually got brighter. I took a break and went to the coast. I was lucky – now I got a real sunrise. Not above a road in the Swedish inland but above the partially frozen Baltic Sea. So beautiful!

Cottage holiday Dec 15 2023

Last Saturday Annika came from Sweden. On Sunday we took the car to the cottage that the Norwegian Polar Institute and the Institute for Marine Research share. We got it from Sunday till today afternoon (which is Thursday).

Monday

The sun won’t rise again before January and daylight is limited, especially when it is snowing. We took the car to the peninsula Sommarøya, bought some groceries in the local store and took some snowy photos in the small harbour.

The rest of the day – taking a nap, firing the oven and preparing dinner.

Tuesday

The sky was clear and the temperature had dropped. Perfect conditions for taking a ski tour along the lake Kattfjordvatnet. The light was beautiful and we were lucky to find some kind of track that we could follow. But who made this track? It was too narrow for a snow mobile and too wide for a pulka sledge. Later we realised that this was a track for a dog sledding. Several times we let the dog sleds pass before we continued to follow the track by ourselves. I was glad about my warm, woollen mittens with temperatures between -10 and -15 °C.

Later at home I let my drone fly to make some photos of the cabin. Look! It is in the middle of nowhere!

Well – not really. The cottage is quite near the road although the way up through the snow is pretty steep.

The time of the polar night is a lot about colours. First the incredible orange and pink colours of sky and mountains and then the polar lights if you are lucky. We were!

Wednesday

We took a small tour to Brensholmen and Hillesøy, places that are quite near by car. It was chilly and windy. A small boat approached, heading to the small harbour of Brensholmen. From here goes the ferry to the island Senja and from here you can see the bridge to Sommarøya with the island Tussøya in the background.

We continued the road, saw some reindeers and the sky that became more and more orange. No drone photos, it was too windy.

When we were home again we spend a part of the evening (and some part of the night) in front of the house, because the polar lights were amazing. They covered more or less the whole sky and were constantly moving in ribbons, garlands and swirls. I took some photos, but mostly Annika and I just watched this celestial spectacle.

So you see that in Northern Norway the time of the polar night (the mørketid) is not as dark as many believe and quite colourful. The days are just pretty short, but this time of the year is so beautiful!

The last sun in Tromsø 2023? Nov 21 2023

Today I saw it twice. The sun. An orange orb hanging low above the horizon that seems to wander from mountain gap to mountain gap.

Tomorrow it will be invisible due to grey and stormy weather (wind gusts 20 m/s). And soon it will be gone for this year, at least in Tromsø.

It is incredible how much I value every single minute of sunshine before the weeks of polar night. The last days I even tried to find a place in the cafeteria where I could look right into it. And today I went out to take the photo above.

On the other way – there are other light phenomenons that I like too. Polar light for example. I just managed to take a slightly shaky photo, before it faded away. And the season has just begun.

#escapism – midnight sun at Lyngstuva Jul 24 2023

Sunday, half past five in the afternoon. I just arrived in Breivikeidet by car, waiting for the ferry.

It was a quite spontaneous decision to take the car to the northern tipp of the Lyngen Peninsula to watch the midnight sun before the polar days are over in Northern Norway. Without the ferry I would have to drive 200 km one way, using the ferry it is less than half the distance. And there the ferry arrives.

Eight a clock. I have parked by car on a camping ground and the backpack is packed. Camera equipment, something to eat and drink, an extra jacket as well as sleeping bag and camping mat. Hopefully I can sleep in the tiny hut that is near the lighthouse I want to hike to. If not, I’ll sleep outside and get eaten by mosquitoes …

The way there is only 3 km. First I follow the broad gravel road then I turn right and hike along a path that meanders through the mountain landscape. The forecast of the Norwegian weather service yr was right: the weather is nice and mostly sunny. Hopefully it will be clear this night.

And there it is: Lyngstuva Lighthouse. The hut is tiny but it’s open and no one else is there. Nice!

Behind the lighthouse lies the open sea with the prominent shape of the island Nord-Fugløya (Northern bird island) in the north. On the sea there are surprisingly many ships, some of them large. The largest (and ugliest) is the touristic cruise ship Viking Mars with place for 930 passengers. Then there are two Hurtigruten ships. From the left comes Kong Harald on its way to Skjervøy, from the other side Richard With with destination Tromsø. Both have a capacity of 590 passengers.

As usual the ships greet each other with the ship’s horn. Again and again they toot, apparently checking who will have the last word. Finally some minutes after she ships have passed, Richard With toots a last time for half a second and Kong Harald answers the same way. Then it gets silent.

I enter the tiny hut and take some pictures before I make myself at home. It’s cosy!

Inside the hut at Lyngstuva lighthouse I

Inside the hut at Lyngstuva lighthouse II

I soon realise, that I may have the hut for myself this night but definitely not the place. The french couple has gone but in the next hours many other people will appear “on stage”.

Dramatis personae: A couple from Amsterdam. Two people from Lithuania (he’s here for the 7th time) with friends. A group of Finnish scouts. Some more random people. M. and F. from Bavaria.

With the latter two I spend the evening and night. They are the perfect outdoor hosts. They already have collected wood for a campfire, that is soon is burning. We sit round the fire and chat about all sorts of things. I’m even invited to a glass of red wine if I have a glass. No, I don’t have any glass or cup but I have a pot of yoghurt. I only have to eat the yoghurt and clean the pot and – voilà – I have a high standard quality wine glass. Later this evening F. surprises me once more: He brought a travel guitar and so we have live music while we watch the sun slowly lowering but mostly wandering to the right.

At 0:28 the sun has vanished behind the island Nord-Fugløya in the north.

Will it be visible in the mountain gap at 0:44, the time when I think it’s lowest? Yes, at 0:42 it shows up and at 0:44 it is mostly visible again. It’s not my very first midnight sun I see, but a very beautiful one. I’m glad, that I have come here.

I take some more pictures – from the lighthouse and hut and from the mountains behind whose red rocks now seem to gleam by themselves.

Lyngstuva lighthouse in the midnight sun

Then I say goodbye to my “outdoor hosts” and enter the hut to sleep.

I decide not to take the tiny room under the roof but to roll out my camping mat in the main room. The camping mat and I have some disagreements on the topic of sleep comfort but anyhow I sleep quite ok. Just much too short. Because the next day is today and today is Monday and Monday is a working day. A quite tired working day but it was worth it. I never regret being in nature.

In Tromsø the first sunset will be in three days, at the Lyngstuva Lighthouse it will take another day, because it’s a bit more north. Now I’m looking forward to spot the first star. The last one I think I saw in the end of April.

Norrbyskär – after rain comes sun Jul 9 2023

After to weeks of home office home in Sweden Annika and I have a week of vacation. Yesterday we went to a concert of the Umeå based balkan folk band Mullin Mallin on the island Norrbyskär. On the ferry there it rained.

On the ferry to Norrbyskär in the rain I

On the ferry to Norrbyskär in the rain II

But then the weather became better.

While the soundcheck it was drizzling a bit but then the sun came out and we could listen to Mullin Mallin under a blue sky.

After the concert Annika and I had almost two hours until the 22:30 ferry that only runs after evening events. Time to sit by the sea and watch the sun set. While the sun was disappearing behind a cloud the ship was approaching. We went on board and were brought back to Norrbyn on the mainland, where Annika had parked her car.

After a 40 minute drive we were home. That day was a great way to start our vacation. Norrbyskär is always worth a visit, even when it rains and you have to eat the ice cream inside.

The fourth ice station – orthophoto and ice coring Jun 19 2023

This article is part of the series “2023-06: Arctic Ocean cruise KPH”.

It’s Monday, 19 June 13:35 and I just started writing this blog article. For two days the weather has been very foggy and on the 5th ice station (st11) only part of the research could be done due to the bad visibility. While I am writing, we have arrived at our next station (st13) and started to lower the CTD in the moon pool that is in the ship. We are 180 metres west from the prime meridian, that goes through Greenwich. But back to four days ago in times were there was no fog at all …

We are at our 4th ice station with the number st9 and the weather looks ideal for drone flying. Soon after breakfast I’m ready to go on the ice but first the ship has to be anchored to the ice floe. Then the polar bear guard enters the ice and after that we do. As usual most of us leave the helmets by the ship. They are mandatory on deck 3 because of the winches but on the ice we don’t need them.

Drone flying goes well. I even have time and battery to get another try, just to be sure. I corrected exposure, exported 94 images and let them be stitched together to get an aerial “orthophoto” of the area. I added some comments on the image:

After that I have time to stay a bit on the ice. Everything goes well, no one needs my help so I take some photos of Cora doing an ice core. With 110 cm the ice is thicker than the ice corer’s length, therefore the core does not come up in the corer. However Cora just grabs it with her fingers and pulls it up.

Later on the day I play with my private drone on the helicopter deck. One thing is to take aerials from above, another one is to chase ice flows. I am quite nervous because now I look onto the drone from above and it’s hard to tell how close it is to the water. I want to keep my drone and so I keep distance but I get a photo from my favourite ice floe.

At 20:00 I go out onto the ice again, this time to help the oceanographers with the MSS and SUNA. It is really nice that another researcher and I are allowed to help because without us they probably would be faster. Everything takes a little bit the first time. The oceanographers made it clear: You are here to do things and not to take photos. And so this “trip” was very special to me: I didn’t take a single photo! Unbelievable, isn’t it?

Back to the present: The winch with the CTD is still going done, now at a depth of 1800 metres. The bottom depth is shown as 2587 m, so there is a bit to go. The vertical velocity is 1 m/s, so we have almost another hour until the CTD is up again.

Midnight sun in the Arctic Jun 15 2023

This article is part of the series “2023-06: Arctic Ocean cruise KPH”.

Just a photo from today, taken three minutes after midnight.

Moon, Venus, Aurora Mar 31 2023

I’m sitting in the train travelling home to in Obbola where I’ll stay for some weeks. First vacation, then work. It’s the first time since Christmas. Time to post some photos I shot in Tromsø last week.

While I was in Longyearbyen it snowed quite a lot in Tromsø. The official snow depths last week were round 130–140 cm.

That ended a period of slush, rain and icy roads and my walks to work had become much more pleasant. I love snow!

22 March: Walking to work in snowy Tromsø I

22 March: Walking to work in snowy Tromsø II

Then it cleared up. In the evening of the 23 March I could see the young waxing Moon and the planet Venus. And then the polar light came out. Perhaps nothing new but still beautiful.

23 March: Polar light with Moon and Venus

A starry night Jan 30 2023

Today evening I met with my colleague Marika. We took the car to a road on the mainland looking for a dark place to spot the comet C/2022 E3. And we did, although it was only a weak, soft spot high up in the sky. I was much too impatient to take photos. I know that my equipment is not made for astrophotography.

But I was glad to be outside under the stars, watching the moonlit snowy mountains and the frost covered trees that glittered brightly when a car passed. With -15 °C it was surprisingly cold, almost ten degree colder than in town.

Of course I did take some other photos, just from the surroundings.

Now I hope for more starry nights.

Tromsø – waiting for the sun Jan 29 2023

This winter polar night in Tromsø was from 26/27 November till 15 January. While the sun has been above the horizon at noon since 16 January it took some additional days until it could rise above the mountains to be seen in Tromsø. That day was last Saturday, the 21 January. It is called soldagen (the sun day). On this day it is tradition to eat “Berliner” doughnuts called solbolle (sun bun). When I went shopping in the afternoon only a few were left in the shop. But I already ate one in the cantina in advance the day before.

Saturday, 21 January

It is soldagen today. I walk to the bay Telegrafbukta at noon. Other people have gathered waiting for the sun. Some of them are barbecuing. But it is too cloudy to see the low sun itself. So: no sun.

Sunday, 22 January

Weather has changed. It has been raining at temperatures up to +7.6 °C. All the ways are icy. A misery!

I take a walk in the afternoon. Sunset has been one hour ago but through the thick rain clouds still comes a purple-violet shade of light. It looks very dramatic. But no sun.

Tuesday, 24 January

While I’m working some heavy snow showers move over the city. The large cruise ship that moored in the centre is almost hidden from my view through the windows of Framsenteret. Definitively no sun today.

Thursday, 26 January

It has become slightly colder and 15-20 cm of snow have fallen since last night. I walk home early, the first time not in darkness. It’s bright, but – no sun.

27 January

Warmer again. And today it really rains a lot. While I’m out at 15:00 it just pours down and large and deep puddles are everywhere. And wet ice. A real misery! And of course: no sun even today.

28 January

I take a long walk by the coast of Kvaløya. Temperature has dropped to +1 °C and it snows a lot. The snow is wet and sticky. Later it clears a bit but still no sun.

28 January: the wet snow is pretty sticky

29 January – today

Will the sun ever come out? Even today it snows and it is quite cloudy. Since I can see some small blue patches between the clouds and want to get some fresh air anyhow I again walk to Telegrafbukta as eight days ago. There are a lot of clouds and there’s a ship in the distance.

A ship? If I have time I always check which ship it is using the app VesselFinder. OK, let’s see … . What!? I’m really surprised: It is the Kronprins Haakon, the very ship I’ve been on at my polar expedition last year. I didn’t know that it arrives in Tromsø today. I directly get a strong longing to be on that ship cruising to the high Arctic again. (Spoiler alert: I may, later this year.)

29 January: Kronprins Haakon arriving in Tromsø I

29 January: Kronprins Haakon arriving in Tromsø II

But I can see something else. While I take photos of the bright spots between the dark clouds I spot a bright orb through my telephoto lens. The sun, the sun! Can it be true?

I check the photos at home. Although the orb is not visible on the photos (too bright) the altitude fits. So now I’m sure I saw the sun today, at least for some seconds through my camera.

This year will be a bit special. If everything works out Annika and I will see the sun coming back again in five, six weeks. In March work in Longyearbyen on Svalbard for a week and before that Annika and I stay there as tourists for about a week. One of the events I’m looking forward to is the 8 March: A quote from visitsvalbard.com:

[…] Marking the sun’s return is a long-standing traditional for the residents of Svalbard. When the sun returns on 8 March, we gather on the old hospital steps to celebrate the ‘sun’s return’. The saying here goes that ‘the sun is declared back in Longyearbyen when its rays reach the steps’. […]