Our BetterMost Community > The Holiday Forum
Celebrating the Winter Solstice
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: Penthesilea on September 29, 2021, 12:12:10 pm ---The Big Dipper can be seen year round here in middle Europe.
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I've seen the Big Dipper many times and it is also the only constellation I can identify, too. I don't know if it's year round or not.
I wonder if at least part of Jeff's problem is light pollution. That would explain why things he could see in childhood he can't see now, rather than sky positions.
--- Quote ---Northern Lights visible in MN? I just checked: even though MN is way colder than my area (thank you gulf stream), I am North of you. MN is roundabout 46?N while I am 49?N.
Northern Lights are never-ever visible here, and I think not even in Stockholm, which is 1000km north of me.
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Somebody told me a few years ago that most of Europe was north of the United States but was warmer because of ocean currents. Mind-blowing!
I envy you the Gulf Stream, but does that mean you also have darker winters?
--- Quote ---Ooops, I've just checked on Wikipedia. Northern Lights can be visible in middle and even southern Europe when the sun's cycle is on maximum eruption, which is roughly every ten years or such.
Nobody i know has ever seen them down here. Hubby and I took a trip on the Norwegian Hurtigruten Ship and we went in February just to see them. And we did! Was totally worth it! :)
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Very strange! I used to see them fairly frequently but rarely lately. Again, I think because of light pollution. In northern MN they're relatively common.
I have a friend in northern Minnesota who is both a photographer and amateur astronomist who has written a couple of books about everyday astronomy. He takes beautiful photos of aurora borealis (and other celestial events) and posts them on his blog, Astro Bob. http://astrobob1.blogspot.com/2021/08/aurora-watch-friday-night-august-27.html
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: serious crayons on September 29, 2021, 12:58:57 pm ---I wonder if at least part of Jeff's problem is light pollution. That would explain why things he could see in childhood he can't see now, rather than sky positions.
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That would certainly be the case with stars. As for the Northern Lights, I think we're just too far south for them to be ordinarily visible. I remember the weather being very cold the time I saw them as a child. I imagine geography and also weather conditions may play a role in visibility. If they were commonly visible in the U.S., why would somebody take a trip to far northern Scandinavia to see them?
On the other hand, when Mars was close to the moon, I could see it while standing in my father's driveway.
--- Quote ---Very strange! I used to see them fairly frequently but rarely lately. Again, I think because of light pollution. In northern MN they're relatively common.
I have a friend in northern Minnesota who is both a photographer and amateur astronomist who has written a couple of books about everyday astronomy. He takes beautiful photos of aurora borealis (and other celestial events) and posts them on his blog, Astro Bob. http://astrobob1.blogspot.com/2021/08/aurora-watch-friday-night-august-27.html
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That's beautiful!
Sason:
--- Quote from: serious crayons on September 29, 2021, 12:58:57 pm ---
I envy you the Gulf Stream, but does that mean you also have darker winters?
--- End quote ---
No. The Gulf stream gives us warmer weather overall, at least in the western parts of Europe. I'm not sure how far east its impact reaches.
Dark winters and light summers are connected to latitude. The farther north you go (or south in the southern hemisphere), the bigger the difference is between summer and winter when it comes to hours of daylight.
Right on the equator day and night are exactly the same length all year round.
CellarDweller:
--- Quote from: serious crayons on September 29, 2021, 12:58:57 pm ---I've seen the Big Dipper many times and it is also the only constellation I can identify, too. I don't know if it's year round or not.
I wonder if at least part of Jeff's problem is light pollution. That would explain why things he could see in childhood he can't see now, rather than sky positions.
Somebody told me a few years ago that most of Europe was north of the United States but was warmer because of ocean currents. Mind-blowing!
I envy you the Gulf Stream, but does that mean you also have darker winters?
Very strange! I used to see them fairly frequently but rarely lately. Again, I think because of light pollution. In northern MN they're relatively common.
I have a friend in northern Minnesota who is both a photographer and amateur astronomist who has written a couple of books about everyday astronomy. He takes beautiful photos of aurora borealis (and other celestial events) and posts them on his blog, Astro Bob. http://astrobob1.blogspot.com/2021/08/aurora-watch-friday-night-august-27.html
--- End quote ---
That pic is beautiful!
as for constellations, I'm bad at them, so I've downloaded "Night Sky" app for my phone. When you run it, you can point your phone to the sky, and it shows you the constellations. If you point it to the ground, you can see the ones in the other hemisphere.
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serious crayons:
--- Quote from: Sason on September 29, 2021, 03:11:38 pm ---No. The Gulf stream gives us warmer weather overall, at least in the western parts of Europe. I'm not sure how far east its impact reaches.
Dark winters and light summers are connected to latitude. The farther north you go (or south in the southern hemisphere), the bigger the difference is between summer and winter when it comes to hours of daylight.
Right on the equator day and night are exactly the same length all year round.
--- End quote ---
Oh, sorry, I worded that clumsily. I know how daylight length works. In fact, within Minnesota alone you can see a clear difference in midsummer between the length of days in the north compared to closer to the southern border, where I am.
I love the long summer days but can't stand the short winter ones. When I lived in Louisiana, which according to that map I posted is the latitudinal equivalent of northern Libya and Egypt, I never suffered from Seasonal Affective Disorder. In fact, I didn't even know I had it until I moved back to Minnesota.
That's why Chrissi and I invented the holiday of Longerdays, celebrated on Dec. 22.
I'm not sure how I'd feel about the equatorial half and half. I'd love it in the winter, of course! But then I might as well go all the way to the southern hemisphere and visit Sheyne!
I've heard that climate change will eventually, or maybe even soon -- my kids' lifetimes, maybe -- will make the area around the equator uninhabitable.
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