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The Red-Sky Enigma returns
From mid-January with the return of nautical to civil twilight conditions on Svalbard, a red-purple sky color is daily observed with the rise of the Sun - even though it's way below the horizon. This effect is due to a long period of cold temperatures (-85oC) in the Stratosphere over Svalbard and the mainland. As a consequence, Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSC) are formed, ducting and scattering the solar light into the dark illuminated polar hemisphere. The process is explained in our Red-Sky Enigma paper published back in 2005.

Read paper here.

4 February, 2025

Observatory science highlights!
Read Katie Herlingshaw et al. (2025) extensive publication in the Journal Arctic Science on KHO highlights. A historic compilation that spans over 4 decades from the old Nordlysstasjonen in Adventdalen (1978) and up until today. Well done, Katie!

Read milestone paper.

3 February, 2025

HYPSO-2 works!
We are proud to report that the HYPSO-2 satellite works as planned with sharp focus on both camera systems. The improved payload consist of our designed Hyper Spectral Imager (HSI v6) and a regular RGB camera.

See stunning images in Gemini.no

31 January, 2025

Is the Aurora disappearing from Svalbard?
Mikkel Breedveld and Stein Haaland points out that the magnetic pole moves in position and will consequently shift the auroral oval 5-6 km South each year if the current changes in the Earth's magnetic field continues. The question of how long we will see aurora from Svalbard is raised.

Read Svalbardposten feature article.

30 January, 2025