"The Northern Lights" by Pete
Lawrence £6| Since 1997 Omega
Holidays, based at White Cross, Lancaster, have flown special 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 our weather
to give many people unforgettable and clear views of Hale-Bopp
(images of Hale Bopp taken by me from the ground can be found
in the comet section
of my image Gallery). 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 our Milky Way Galaxy. 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 of Chesterfield Astronomical Society. To date Nigel has been on 64 flights and has a success rate of 61/64 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 join us and the main team has become Nigel, myself and Sky at Night regular contributor 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. For 2010 we now have a 4th standby astronomer, my good friend and astronomy colleague 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. |
| People booked
for a flight are given a pre-flight lecture by two
of the guest astronomers. One of us gives a 30 minute talk
on what can be seen in the night sky for the flight. Then the second
Astronomer (usually me or Pete) give a 30 minute presentation
explaining what an Aurora is, it's relationship to the Sun and how
it is produced. We also try to give an estimate of the prospects for
the flight and we always research several Internet sites that give
us an idea of what we can expect. After this the Omega Tour Manager
often need to give out basic info on how to get to the airport (sometimes
the talk is actually at the airport!). They also organize the venue and travel arrangements. Once the talks are
over we head off to the airport and get checked in ready for the flight. As
a rule you need a form of photo ID or your passport for the booking in process.
You MUST NOT have any sharp implement
or large amounts of liquids on you as security is still tight and they will
be confiscated at the security check in. Once airborne the cabin crew do their work. There is often a limited 'meal' (for want of a better word!) and once this is all cleared away then we ask for the cabin lights to be turned off - this is vital as it takes people at least 20 minutes to become 'dark adapted'. This enables you to view faint details at night - but one bright light can ruin your adaption thus we do our best to get as much of the cabin lighting turned off as possible. Unfortunately due to safety and air traffic considerations it is not always possible to turn off all lights but we can usually get it pretty dark. One of us then does a 'flash check' asking everyone with cameras to turn off the flash/LCD screen if that is possible with their make of camera - those camera's that do not have the option of turning them off CANNOT be used as a single flash or bright LCD screen can ruin the experience for several rows on the plane and therefore can spoil the event for a large number of people sitting near the culprit. After a countdown everyone 'takes a picture' and hopefully there is no flash and so everyone knows whether they can use their camera or not. It's a running joke originally from Patrick Moore that anyone who has a flash go off during the main display is automatically thrown out of the aeroplane minus parachute! If the sun is having good sunspot and magnetic activity then we may well see the main Auroral band as the plane heads north and usually when we are at the approximate border of UK and Icelandic/Norwegian airspace the pilot (with the permission of air traffic control) puts the flight in a holding pattern (usually a race track path) enabling each side of the plane to view the Northern Lights. He/she will also ask permission to turn the nav and strobe lights off - but this is not always possible and is unfortunately beyond our control. |
|
Because these flights do have
to pay for themselves, all the seats on each flight are sold
with the exception of the front couple of rows. These are reserved
for Omega representatives and the Astronomers - who naturally have
to be able to view the display in order to inform the passengers
of what is happening. Thus when you book a place on one of the flights
you are NOT booking
a particular
seat but
simply a place on that flight.
However the book in procedure at the airport means that passengers
will be allocated whatever seats are avaiable because that is
the system! We therefore ask everyone to take it in turns to
swap seats along each row to enable everyone to get a good view
- this is simple common sense and is the fairest way of allowing
everyone to get a good view. Where there are occasionally seats without
a window then we will endeavour to rotate the passengers affected and
it is a requirement that
everyone helps us to help each other get a good view. Naturally as
one side of the plane can see the Aurora then the other side is
facing away so during the main part of the flight the two Astronomers
take it in turns to describe over the intercom what each side of
the plane can see at that time. Thus whilst one side is enjoying the
Northern Lights the other is given a guided tour of the main highlights
of the constellations visible. This also includes the occasional bright
planet as well, such as Saturn and Jupiter or Mars. This means that the
view is normally towards the North and South whilst viewing the aurora
but then on the return leg of the journey the focus switches to what
can be seen in the West and East. As a general guide the flights usually
last for 3 hours which includes the journey up and back and approximately
20 to 30 minutes viewing the Northern Lights depending on how far north
we have had to travel to see the display. |
| February - March 2010 |
|
| February 5th Friday |
Durham Tees Valley Airport |
| February 11th Thursday |
Bournmouth Airport |
| February 12th Friday |
London Gatwick |
| February 14th Sunday |
Cardiff Airport |
| February 15th Monday |
Bristol International Airport |
| February 16th Tuesday |
East Midlands Airport |
| March 7th Sunday |
Edinburgh Airport |
| March 8th Monday |
Glasgow Airport |
| March 9th Tuesday |
Liverpool Airport |
| March 12th Friday |
Exeter Airport |
| March 14th Sunday |
London Stansted Airport |
| March 15th Monday |
Birmingham International Airport |
| March 16th Tuesday |
Doncaster Airport |
| March 17th Wednesday |
Leeds Bradford Airport |