Melanie Windridge's Blog, page 2

Interview with Gavin Pretor-Pinney from the Cloud Appreciation Society

Gavin Pretor-Pinney. Photo: Bill Bradshaw

Gavin Pretor-Pinney is the founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society (CAS), which aims to foster understanding and appreciation of clouds, and has over 50,000 members worldwide from 120 different countries. He has also written several books, among them The Cloudspotter’s Guide, The Cloud Collector’s Handbook and, most recently, A Cloud A Day.

Melanie has joined several of the society’s trips to speak about the aurora and eclipses, ironically both phenome...

8 Tips for thriving through isolation

Due to the COVID-19 lockdown happening in many places in the world, many people are now being forced to work from home for the first time, adjusting to a new kind of reality.

Its a difficult time for many, but also an opportunity to grow and change, and take something positive from it.

Times of isolation.

Ive been working independently for over ten years now. Ive learned to love working from home. I have also done several adventure expeditions where I have been in small groups without contact...

Expert tips for going on a northern lights cruise

Aurora seen from a Hurtigruten cruise in December 2018. Photo: Graham Bryant

In November 2019 I experienced my first northern lights cruise. I flew into Tromsø and boarded the Hurtigruten ship MS Finnmarken as it travelled up to Kirkenes and back, joining a 50-strong group who were on a full Astronomy Voyage from Bergen to Bergen, which included talks from astronomer Graham Bryant and guided tours with tour leader Eva Stiegler.

Seeing the aurora on a cruise is different to seeing it on land,...

Interview with aurora guide and night sky photographer Adrien Mauduit

Aurora and milky way over the beautiful Bergsbotn, taken from the viewing platform. Photo: Adrien Mauduit.

Adrien is an aurora guide at the Aurora Borealis Observatory on Senja island in Norway. He’s also an accomplished night sky photographer.

We asked him five questions about being an aurora guide and night sky photographer.

1. What does a typical day as an aurora guide and photographer look like for you?

As an aurora guide at the Aurora Borealis Observatory, I mainly focus on explaining...

How to protect your eyes in the mountains

Melanie trekking to Everest Base Camp. On Everest, Melanie wore the Julbo Cameleon lense. The Julbo range adapts to changing UV levels within 20-30 seconds.

When skiing or mountaineering, protecting your eyes against sunlight and glare from snow and ice is of paramount importance for the health of your eyes. Levels of ultraviolet radiation can be high even if it is cloudy, and too much UV exposure can lead to painful inflammation, called “snow blindness”, or increase the likelihood of...

My first aurora from a ship – Hurtigruten Astronomy Voyage report

MS Finnmarken docked in Tromsø

Last month, I got a short taster of Hurtigruten’s Astronomy Voyage. The cruise starts and ends in Bergen: over 12 days it takes you along the Norwegian coast – its 34 ports, more than 100 fjords and 1000 mountains. I didn’t join the entire cruise, but flew into Tromsø and boarded MS Finnmarken as it travelled up to Kirkenes and back.

What’s particularly interesting about this cruise, in addition to taking you through mesmerising landscapes, is that it’s...

Interview with aurora chasers Theresa and Darlene Tanner

Aurora chasers Theresa and Darlene Tanner from Central Alberta, Canada, have a passion for nature and its beauty and their eyes are always on the skies.

Theresa and Darlene are partners who love chasing and photographing the aurora in winter and storms in summer. They have a passion for nature and its beauty and their eyes are always on the skies. Based in Central Alberta, Canada, they have travelled widely and spent many a night outdoors to experience the northern lights.

We asked the team...

Interview with Live Aurora Network co-founder Steve Collins

The founders of the Live Aurora Network, Steve, Tony and Jeff (left to right), in Iceland.

Steve co-founded the Live Aurora Network with Tony Collins, because after too many cold nights in remote Scandinavian fields with no aurora (something experienced by many tourists) they realised there must be a better way. Their app identifies aurora activity with a 100% accuracy rate and you don’t need experience of reading scientific forecasts to use it. You can use the app when you’re out aurora hunt...

What is a total solar eclipse?

Melanie photographing the partial phase of the total solar eclipse in Eola Hills vineyard, Oregon, USA, on 21st August 2017.

A total solar eclipse is a fascinating and beautiful phenomenon and creates unique conditions for scientific measurement. But what exactly is it?

What is a total solar eclipse?

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, blocking the light of the Sun. How, precisely, they line up determines the type of eclipse we see – a partial, total or...

A Visual Orchestra in the Sky

David used a timer and long exposure to capture this photo of himself experiencing the northern lights in Tromsø

A poem by David Saul Fineberg, inspired by his trip to Tromsø in February 2016.

A Visual Orchestra in the Sky

It was a visual orchestra in the sky

Colours like I’d never seen before Green spread across the canvas of night Flirting with the stars   The shades intertwined like lovers in the heat of passion Gently toying with my senses And then, like a lion startled It awoke, and ro...