Topic: New Aurora Pictures: First Big Show of 2011

[sam]

Northern lights sweep above a cabin in Abisko in northern Sweden on January 7. "The entire sky opened up like a beautiful inferno," photographer Peter Rosén told spaceweather.com. "Red, blue and green like a dancing queen on the sky."

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/01/pictures/110120-aurora-borealis-northern-lights-science-space/?now=2011-01-20-00:01#/january-2011-northern-lights-aurora-borealis-abisko-lapland_31389_600x450.jpg

[Rik]

Stunning pics, Sam.

[Clive]

Phew!  They are among the best I've seen!  Lucky people! 

[Rik]

To say awesome would not be hyperbole for once, eh Clive?

[Clive]

I had planned to take a holiday in Tromso next February but it was already fully booked by last July!   

[Rik]

I suppose a lot of people have the ambition and Tromso doesn't want to get swallowed up by tourism.

[Clive]

I don't think it's a very big place.  There are lots of aurora plane flights available but looking out of an aeroplane window can't be very satisfactory.   

[Rik]

No, you need to be somewhere quiet.

[sam]

I actually had a pretty spectacular view of the aurora on my flight back from Canada at Christmas - first time I've properly seen it. I guess that's what you get when you fly over Yellowknife.

[Rik]

Did the environment of the plane detract from the experience for you, Sam?

[sam]

oh yeah, but still was phenomenal. It was a normal commercial jet, the ones that fly up their for that purpose are setup better than that though.

[Simon]

Wouldn't it be wonderful to spend a week in that house in #1.   

[sam]

might be cold though

[Simon]

True. 

[Clive]

Well done Sam!  That must have been the icing on the cake!