Northern Lights

One of the attractions on offer with our adventure holiday was the opportunity to view the Northern Lights.  The only problem with this is that they can not be guaranteed and are as fickle as the weather.  Nevertheless, this year is near to a sunspot maximum, which increases the likelihood of an Aurora display, and the weather was favorable in that the night skies were clear of cloud for most of our stay.  The only drawback was that there was a very bright full moon, which tended to drown out anything else in the sky while it was above the horizon.
So every evening after 10pm I stuck my head out of our cabin door to see if there was any aurora action.  For the first four nights  - nothing.  On our final night there was an organised activity optimistically named: "Northern Lights viewing expedition", which involved a trek through the woods to a spot on the lake where there was no light pollution. Once there we sat round a camp file on reindeer skins and waited for something to happen.  I decided to get some night sky shots in anyway, with or without the aurora, and started to set up my gear.  As I was wrestling with the controls on my camera, the others spotted that the northern sky had lit up with the greenish glow of the Northern Lights.   So we did strike lucky in the end and got to see this amazing natural phenomenon.
Later on when we got back to the cabin I did manage to get my camera lens sorted out and had a more relaxed chance to get some pictures. Not perhaps as spectacular as can be seen on some occasions when the aurora puts on a multi-coloured display right overhead, but a perfect end to a great adventure holiday and birthday treat.

Cross Country Skiing

Our final activity for this adventure holiday was to experience cross country skiing.  Although we can both ski downhill to some extent, there is very little overlap in terms of technique between that and cross country, so we had to start from square one again.  Our guide/instructor, Chris, correctly assumed that we would be worn out after a couple of hours of learning cross country, so we had a leisurely start to the day, with a visit to Chris' attractive Finnish style house and a look around his pottery.  Once on skis, we shuffled off somewhat shakily along a track over one of the many frozen lakes in the area.  After a while it started to feel a bit more relaxed as we got into the right rhythm, but I still managed to work up quite a sweat, whereas Chris was looking cool and unruffled.  So clearly I still have some way to go to develop the right technique.
After that sampler, I would certainly like to give cross country another go sometime for a slightly longer trek, although I think I will stick to downhill most of the time  One plus for cross country is that the shoes are way more comfortable than clunky ski boots.

Snowmobile Trek

Our activity for day three of our Arctic Adventure is a snowmobile expedition along some of the trails around Ruka - the local ski resort.  After wrapping up in some suitably warm outer garments provided by the hire shop, we set out along the trails that wind through forests and across frozen lakes.  Not quite as tranquil as our husky ride of the previous day, thanks to the engine noise and the exhaust smell, and it is not so easy to look around at the scenery when you are concentrating on staying on the track.
Our apres-trek routine usually involved a session in the sauna in our cabin, followed by a very tasty Finnish meal served up by the proprietors of the adjacent lodge.

Husky Expedition

On to day two of my Arctic Adventure. Today's activity was a ride through another national park driving a sleigh drawn by huskies. After meeting our dog team of eight eager huskies we set out across a deserted wilderness, taking it in turn to drive. No too difficult to master as the only control is a break, plus a bit of leaning into the corners . Wonderfully peacefull, to the extent that we saw no  other signs of human activity for the whole of the expedition.  Our lunch break consisted of a very filling elk soup followed by a local dessert speciality made from squeaky cheese in a caramel saue with cranberries. Very tasty. We managed the return journey to the husky farm without any mishap and said goodbye to our dog team before the drive back to our lodge.

Arctic Adventure

Day one of my Arctic Adventure holiday - my 60th birthday present from Alison. Our guide, Steve, took us to one of the nearby national parks for a snowshoe trek through the forest, and along a river gorge. Lunchtime stop for sausages grilled over a wood fire. Apparently a Finnish tradition. Most animals are still lying low at this time of year, but plenty of tracks in the snow to indicate that they are around.  Snowshoeing seems to be a good way of getting around in the wild, but exercises hip muscles that I never knew existed.

Plank Results At Last

Four years after the launch of ESA's Plank satellite mission, the agency has at last seen fit to publish a small chunk of the data gathered during the first year of Plank's operation. To me it seems outrageous that this mission, which has been funded by the European taxpayer, should be the preserve of a small clique of professional scientists. Having just sat though two distinctly underwhelming press connects to present the mission's initial findings, I am left wondering exactly why the ESA felt it necessary to cloak the whole operation in secrecy over the past four years.
Anyway, the data is now out in the public domain and available for analysis by independent cosmologists like me. Having published a paper a few years ago predicting that the Planck data would reveal some interesting data about anomalous photon noise, I am obviously keen to see whether these predictions turn out to be true. If this does turn out to be the case then the implications for our view of space, time and the structure of the cosmos would be fairly profound, to say the least. Watch this space!