Yesterday was a very exciting day. We awoke to an announcement that we’d soon be passing into the Arctic Circle, and the Vikingen Island soon came into view with its statue of the globe. 

The scenery on this passage was just spectacular, with cloud-shrouded mountains, beautiful villages, and even a salmon farm.

We attended a lecture by the on-board astronomer, Terence Murtaugh, who reassured us we would be seeing northern lights based on NASA forecasts this week, and the big black spot on the sun spewing magnetic forces toward earth. The photo below shows the big black spot!

He was guiding a star gazing tour on deck later that night, but the cloud cover obscured all but one star. It was exciting nonetheless, as we crossed under a bridge with very little clearance.

Terence explained that even with clouds the aurora can be seen, but few people can actually see the vivid green with the naked eye. It looks more grey than green, but with a good camera the colors jump out. So every few minutes I’d do a scan with my new iPhone 13 pro, and sure enough I sidled up to Terence and showed him my phone. “What am I seeing here?” I asked. “YOU FOUND IT!” he exclaimed, “Thank you!” he added and began telling others where to look. Steve looked at me and said, “We have an astronomer on board and you’re showing him where to look. This is definitely a Pepin thing.” Yup. But I’m certain Roger, Claudia, Mike and Hunter would have been hanging from the bridge cam long before then. 

Tonight! Huskies and a dog sled ride, and hopefully more Northern Lights!

Deborah