Tag Archives: northern lights

Mise Tales Thirty

 

For an update on what a Mise Tale is then please see Mise Tales One.

Sisiman's Lighthouse, Bataan

 

A lovely Black & White (B&W) shot of Sisiman lighthouse in Sisiman Bay, Mariveles, Bataan, Philippines. Click the photo for a larger version on Flickr

 

 

Pink St Mary's Lighthouse by the Chicken Wing - FlickrAnd another photo from Flickr of St. Mary’s lighthouse in Whitley Bay in the north east of England which is currently being lit up pink as part of the Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign. Again, please click the photo for a larger version.

 

 

Image2And a third Flickr photo showing a lighthouse at night. This one is unique in that it show the loom of the light – the wide skirt or beam of light that follows the lens as it rotates. This is usually not visible at a distance, but only in the immediate vicinity of the lighthouse at night due to dust particles and/or fog in the air.

************************

lighthouse plansDo you want to build a lighthouse for outdoors or indoors? Loads of plans available on this GoBookee website. I noticed the top three plans required credit card validation (no charges) but I am leery of this so skipped them. The rest of the links are for PDF documents which download freely – lots of plans and information to keep you busy all winter! The photo at the left is just one of many.

*************************

Plum Beach LighthouseDeadline looming for Plum Beach Lighthouse license plate orders – what a way to raise money for your favourite lighthouse!

Oct 29, 2013 6:04 AM CST By Bryan Monaghan – email NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. 

If you’re interested in getting a Plum Beach Lighthouse license plate in time for Christmas, get your order in soon.

The Friends of the Plum Beach Lighthouse say orders must be in by the end of October, to get the plates made in time.

Proceeds from the plates help pay for operations at the lighthouse, including upkeep and yearly inspections.

******************************

Angels Gate

 

100th Anniversary of the Angels Gate Lighthouse, San Pedro, California,  also in Wikipedia

 

 

*******************************

logoNorthern Lighthouse Project

The Astronomy North Society will work with partners and sponsors to design, install and maintain a series of rooftop lighthouses in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. These lighthouses will be used to raise local awareness of space weather, geomagnetic storms, and the science and splendor of the aurora borealis. . . . more

Beacon for Northern lights

Yellowknife will have something other than the aurora lighting up the night sky starting tonight.

Five concrete lighthouses have been installed this week by Astronomy North at high-traffic areas of the city which will shine either blue, green, or red, depending on solar activity. The non-profit organization calls the initiative the Northern Lighthouse Project.

“On Friday night, Yellowknife will become the first community in the world to have its own space weather alert system – an early warning system for geomagnetic storms,” said James Pugsley, president of Astronomy North.

These storms determine the intensity of the Aurora Borealis, or Northern lights.

***************************

Is anybody interested in a job as a Sous Chef in a lighthouse? Lighthouse Restaurant that is!

Senior Sous Chef – Parkers’ Lighthouse (Long Beach)

Parkers Lighthouse

 Parkers’ Lighthouse in Long Beach, CA has an excellent culinary opportunity for a seasoned Sous Chef who will provide strong support for back of the house operations. We offer competitive compensation, benefit plans (medical, dental, 401(k)), and professional development.

JOB REQUIREMENTS: . . . see more

*********************

 

Reprint – Are We Nearly Where Yet?

 

From the Condé Nast Traveller October 2012 by Tony Cross

Are we nearly where yet?

If your eyesight isn’t quite what it was, you may need a hand spotting this luxury lighthouse that is set to become a cult destination for lovers of the Northern Lights. You can see the red roof and white walls just peeking out from the top of the right side of the island, but without some serious navigating skills you may still have trouble finding it altogether.

No roads lead to the Littleisland Lighthouse at Litløya, Vesterålen, Nordland, Norway, and that extended address may still not be enough to get you there. Accessible only by boat, a more useful location may be it’s co-ordinates – (+68° 35′ 37.91″, +14° 18′ 34.89″) – which will take you 130 miles inside the Arctic Circle.

Guests arriving from the airport at Narvik or Evenes (accessible via Oslo from the UK) travel by bus to the small fishing community of Vinje, where they will be met by lighthouse staff and provided appropriate clothing for the short but exciting trip by boat to the island.

But for many, the real beauty of staying at Littleisland Lighthouse is what can be seen at night during the winter months…

The 2012/13 “season” for viewing the aurora borealis is predicted to be the most spectacular for 50 years, according to NASA who make the prediction based on reports of solar wind activity around the sun. This means that from now until March, skies such as those pictured above should be reasonably commonplace for visitors to this remote part of Norway, just northwest of the scenic Lofoten Islands. At night, guests will be kept warm with blankets, hot beverages and a sweet treat while they enjoy the view.

The lighthouse, built in 1912, is celebrating its centennial year, and owner Elena Hansteensen believes it offers the right mix of boutique luxury and complete isolation. Elena and her staff provide locally-sourced healthy meals, which is fortunate because there isn’t any other food available on the island unless you’re a dab hand at fishing.

Inside, the lighthouse offers two double rooms, a cosy library and dining area – all with spectacular views of the sea and sky. But the island has one or two more treats in store for those brave enough to visit…

When day breaks you can explore the island’s Stone Age settlements, which were established some 6,000 years ago, or visit the remains of its 19th century fishing village, as well as spot orcas and other species of whale off the island’s coast.

Exploration can be done alone or with one of the lighthouse staff as a guide. Alternative activities include fishing, or simply relaxing at the lighthouse with their resident Norwegian forest cats Sirius and Sara. The lighthouse itself is still very much in use, its LED light powered by solar panels and flashing every 10th of a second to sailors passing the rocky coast.

Those in fear of the weather will be relieved to hear that Littleisland is blessed with a surprisingly mild climate. While you should probably forget your swimsuit, thanks to the Gulf Stream average winter day temperatures are above freezing, and snowfall is light and fleeting.

Rooms at Littleisland Lighthouse are available from 1 November 2012 to 1 April 2013. Maximum four persons in two double rooms. Stays available for two or three nights, arrivals recommended on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Two nights costs £310 per person, three nights £420 per person (subject to exchange rates), and includes boat transfers to and from Littleisland, all meals, and a guided tour of the lighthouse. Norwegian Air offers return flights from Oslo to Evenes from around £150. Find out more about Littleisland here.

By Tony Cross

Northern Lights at the Lighthouse

 

In my twenty-five (25) years on McInnes Island one of the most spectacular sights in the winter was the Northern Lights display (aurora borealis1) in the northern night time sky. Absolutely beautiful!

This was brought to mind the other day when I saw this October 10, 2012 article online Image: Aurora Dips South Across Canada

The aurora borealis was photographed from space over Montreal and Lake Superior on Oct. 08, 2012. CREDIT: NASA Earth Observatory

When a powerful solar flare, known as a coronal mass ejection, hit Earth’s magnetic field on Oct. 8, people living in North America’s northern latitudes were treated to a spectacular light show.

This visible light image from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite shows the northern lights swirling across Canada’s Quebec and Ontario provinces. The city lights of Montreal also shine in the bottom of the image.

Source:Image: Aurora Dips South Across Canada by   www.livescience.com Continue reading Northern Lights at the Lighthouse

A Lighthouse at Night

 

One of the nicest things about night shift on McInnes Island lighthouse was observing the sky on a clear night. It was always the same, and always different.

The same stars were always there, but the moon waxed and waned, comets streaked across at intervals, sometimes an airplane’s navigation lights blinked in the south, or sometimes the Northern Lights flashed in the north. Below are some more shots.

[nggallery id=66]

One of the problems with seeing such sights in the city is the city lights, often called light pollution. The graphic below ill show you what is seen and not seen as light pollution decreases.

I must confess, that is what the night sky looks like at night from a lighthouse, but not having a photo from my experiences on McInnes lighthouse as my camera was too amateurish for such detail, I added the lighthouse silhouette to the photos from the gallery below. Are the photos below fantastic or not?

[nggallery id=67]

 

But, when looking at the full-sized photo at the top, turn off your lights and imagine what it was like. Sometimes we would take a foam mat and lay down on the helicopter pad and just watch the night sky. It was fascinating. For meteor showers and comets it was unbeatable. Continue reading A Lighthouse at Night