The Northern Lights Flights

The

Flight

Paul Money’s Web guide to Omega Holiday’s Northern Lights Flights

Introduction

Since 1997 Omega Holidays, based at White Cross, Lancaster, have flown specialized flights for budding Astronomers, Stargazers and keen members of the general public. In 1997 the bright naked eye Comet Hale-Bopp was visible for several months above our night time skies and along with the renowned UK TV Astronomer Patrick Moore, flights were organized to view the Comet from above the clouds using commercial aircraft. Whilst people on the ground had to wait for a clear night, the flights got above the obscuring effects of the weather to give many people unforgettable and clear views of Hale-Bopp.

Naturally once the Comet was gone it was realized that great views could be had of the other wonders of the night time natural world, the Aurora Borealis - the Northern Lights and the stars of the night sky. Thus over the years the principal Guest Astronomer on the flights was Patrick, ably assisted by several experienced amateur astronomers, especially Rod Tippet and more recently Nigel Bradbury. To date Nigel has flown on over 100 flights and has a success rate of 96% in observing Auroras on the flights. For awhile he was joined by Chris Lintott - Astronomy expert who now co -presents Patrick's 'Sky at Night' programme. Late 2004 I (Paul) received an e-mail from Omega Holidays Northern Lights organizer, Peter Truman, inviting me to join the team on a regular basis based on the recommendations of Nigel whom I knew from my regular lectures to his local society. I joined Chris and Nigel at Newcastle Airport in December 2004 and we had a great flight with a pretty good display and I was hooked! Chris has so many commitments he no longer joins us and the main team has become Nigel, myself and Sky at Night co - presenter Pete Lawrence. When some of us can't make a flight other astronomers are enlisted to help out for that flight. They have included Prof Ian Morrison, Dr Jim Wilde, Dr Lucie Green, Steve Ibbotson and Dave Cook. Since 2011we now have a 4th standby astronomer, Jayne Eames, who now stands in when one of the main team are away, ill or simply can't make the flight and she takes on the role of the Roving Astronomer on the plane.

For details of what happens on a typical flight, images of the main flight team, upcoming flight programme and further links to explore use the buttons at the top of the page. We do hope you can join us on a flight as we go in search of the Northern Lights.

Note: Omega Holidays cannot guarantee which Astronomers are on any particular flight and reserve the right to use substitute astronomers if any of the regular team are unavailable. The Northern Lights/Aurora Borealis are a natural phenomenon and as such no guarantee is given that a display will be seen, however based on past flight experience, the astronomers give a 70 to 80 percent chance of seeing something of it during the flight. Cabin light intensity/all aircraft lighting is at the SOLE discretion of the Captain and Air Traffic Control. See the FAQ page for more guidance to the flights.

For further details and how to book, contact Omega Holidays:

Omega Holidays, White Cross Lancaster LA1 4XQ

Telephone: 01524 37500 or for local rate calls 0845 330 1942

e-mail: info@omega-holidays.com

WWW: www.reader.travel or www.omega-holidays.com

Please note that this is NOT an official Northern Lights Omega Holidays web site but pages created by myself (Paul Money) as a way of helping promote the flights. All concerns regarding booking and flights are the responsibility of Omega Holidays and should be dealt with through them.

Omega Holidays occasionally organise Arctic Adventures/Northern Lights trips to Norway & Lapland and Solar Eclipse Trips so check out their web site to see if they are running any such trips in the near future. The links page has links to some that I have helped with to give a flavour of what goes on.