Nov 5 - Nov 19, 2024
Norway
Astronomy Above the Arctic Circle: A Journey Along Coastal Norway
Program No. 23067RJ
Starting in culturally rich Bergen, voyage north to colorful fishing towns and unique ecological wonders above the Arctic Circle in search of the northern lights.
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800-454-5768
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DATES & PRICES
| Ship Inside | Ship Outside |
|---|---|
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A cabin with no window, porthole or balcony.
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A cabin with a window or porthole to view the outside.
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Jan 21 - Feb 4, 2025
Feb 1 - Feb 15, 2025
Feb 12 - Feb 26, 2025
Feb 23 - Mar 9, 2025
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Mar 6 - Mar 20, 2025Filling Fast!
Mar 17 - Mar 31, 2025Mar 28 - Apr 11, 2025
Oct 1 - Oct 15, 2025
Oct 12 - Oct 26, 2025
Filling Fast!
Oct 23 - Nov 6, 2025Nov 3 - Nov 17, 2025
Nov 5 - Nov 19, 2024
Jan 21 - Feb 4, 2025
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Feb 1 - Feb 15, 2025Filling Fast!
Feb 12 - Feb 26, 2025Filling Fast!
Feb 23 - Mar 9, 2025Mar 6 - Mar 20, 2025
Mar 17 - Mar 31, 2025
Mar 28 - Apr 11, 2025
Oct 1 - Oct 15, 2025
Oct 12 - Oct 26, 2025
Oct 23 - Nov 6, 2025
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15 days
14 nights
38 meals
13B 12L 13D
1
In Transit to Program
In Flight
2
Arrive Bergen, Check-in, Orientation, Welcome Dinner
Bergen, Norway
3
Bergen, Embarkation
At Sea
10
Mehamn-Tromso,Hammerfest
At Sea
14
Alesund-Bergen,Bergen, Disembark
Bergen, Norway
15
Program Concludes
In Flight
At a Glance
Take a front-row seat for nature’s own theater, voyaging above the Arctic Circle to learn about the Arctic night sky and the luminous green curtains of the northern lights, the aurora borealis. With an astronomy expert, sail along Norway’s coast during polar nights when the sun doesn’t make it over the horizon and snow-clad mountains provide a matchless backdrop. Sail through pristine islands, past majestic mountains and go ashore in enchanting towns such as Tromsø, Ålesund and Trondheim on this special adventure discovering science in the skies at the northern tip of Norway.
Activity Level
On Your Feet
Walking up to 2 miles per day over various types of terrain; walking up stairs unassisted, getting in and out of motor coaches.
Best of all, you’ll…
- Sail along the breathtaking and rugged coast of Norway as you hunt for the incomparably beautiful display put on by the aurora borealis.
- Look out across the Arctic Ocean from the North Cape, the northernmost point on the European continent.
- Explore the beauty and history of Bergen with a local expert surrounded by the Seven Mountains.
Featured Expert
All trip experts
Ron Waldron
Ron Waldron is an educator with over three decades of classroom teaching experience in the Saskatoon Public School Division. He introduced several portable planetariums to the division, and as planetarium director, he trained over 200 teachers in their use. An avid amateur astronomer, Ron continues to be an active member of the Saskatoon Centre, Royal Astronomical Society of Canada where he has served in numerous executive capacities. Ron is the proprietor of Living Skies Stargazing, dedicated to providing telescopic views of the universe.
Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.
Ron Waldron
View biography
Ron Waldron is an educator with over three decades of classroom teaching experience in the Saskatoon Public School Division. He introduced several portable planetariums to the division, and as planetarium director, he trained over 200 teachers in their use. An avid amateur astronomer, Ron continues to be an active member of the Saskatoon Centre, Royal Astronomical Society of Canada where he has served in numerous executive capacities. Ron is the proprietor of Living Skies Stargazing, dedicated to providing telescopic views of the universe.
Don Hladiuk
View biography
Don Hladiuk has twice been president of the Calgary chapter of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC). He can be heard on the CBC's "Calgary EyeOpener,” where he shares his passion for space exploration. Don was a lecturer for Road Scholar’s “Astronomy Above the Arctic Circle” program, and has introduced many groups to the beauty of the Aurora Borealis. He has also been a leader on several solar eclipse expeditions, observing 16 total solar eclipses, three annular eclipses, and two rare Venus transits.
Bob King
View biography
Bob King fell in love with the night sky and astronomy when he was a kid and loves to share his passion with people of all ages. Bob writes the Explore the Night column and Celestial Calendar for Sky & Telescope's website and magazine, teaches community education astronomy, and pens the Astro Bob blog. His latest book, Magnificent Aurora, is a comprehensive guide to the northern and southern lights. He lives in Duluth, Minnesota with his wife and has two adult daughters.
Alan Dyer
View biography
Alan Dyer has served on Road Scholar Norway excursions since 2017. He sees and photographs the Northern Lights frequently from his rural backyard in Alberta, Canada. But in addition to Norway, he often makes trips to more northern latitudes to chase the Lights. In Churchill, he serves as an instructor for Road Scholar aurora-viewing field trips to the Churchill Northern Studies Centre. Alan is co-author of the guidebook to amateur astronomy, 'The Backyard Astronomer’s Guide,' and is a contributing editor to Sky & Telescope magazine.
Suggested Reading List
(17 books)
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
Astronomy Above the Arctic Circle: A Journey Along Coastal Norway
Program Number: 23067
Norwegian Folk Tales
This rich collection of stories, interpreted by a leading scholar on ancient traditions and tales, will delight both adults and children.
The Fellowship of Ghosts, Travels in the Land of Midnight Sun
A captivating travel memoir in which novelist Paul Watkins interweaves his own experiences in Norway with those of early eccentric visitors. Along the way, Watkins offers vivid, evocative accounts of the country’s majestic mountains, dramatic landscapes and expansive snowfields.
Kitchen of Light: The New Scandinavian Cooking
By a celebrated Norwegian food writer, this handsomely illustrated compendium pairs recipes with an engaging history of Scandinavian cuisine.
The Almost Nearly Perfect People, Behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia
Guardian journalist Michael Booth writes with laugh-out-loud humor and brutal candor about the Scandinavians, mixing history and his own experiences in Nordic regions in this searing cultural portrait.
A History of Scandinavia: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland
Scandinavia from prehistory to the present with chapters on the Viking and Lutheran kingdoms, medieval times, monarchies, the World Wars and modern period, emphasizing the common cultural, political and social backgrounds.
The Northern Lights, The True Story of the Man Who Unlocked the Secrets of the Aurora Borealis
The compelling story of Kristian Birkeland, the turn-of-the-century Norwegian scientist who devoted his career to understanding the aurora borealis, this book also covers the science, history, myth and romance of the phenomenon.
Eyewitness Guide Norway
This handsome, illustrated guide covers nature, culture, history and attractions.
In Cod We Trust: Living the Norwegian Dream
A Minnesotan of Norwegian extraction, Dregni writes entertainingly of Norwegian culture and the immigrant experience in this delightful account of a year living with his wife and infant son in Trondheim on a Fulbright scholarship.
Penguin Historical Atlas of the Vikings
The history of the Vikings told through a series of innovative maps and excellent photographs. This book traces the routes of the ninth-century Viking merchants and explorers throughout Europe and onto the New World.
Through the Eyes of the Vikings, An Aerial Vision of Arctic Lands
In this captivating collection of oversized aerial photographs, Haas (Through the Eyes of the Gods) reveals the surprising diversity of color and life in the arctic landscape, including Norwegian fjords, Alaskan tundras and Swedish waterscapes.
Cross and Scepter
In his scholarly Scandinavian history from the Vikings to the Reformation, Sverre Bagge spends little time with myths, instead focusing on the development of northern European societies and their rise from the Dark Ages.
Letters on Sweden, Norway, and Denmark
Groundbreaking feminist Wollstonecraft records her observations of a late 18th-century journey through Scandinavia in this small masterpiece, rich in detail of people and place.
Wildlife of the North Atlantic, A Cruising Guide
This compact, illustrated guide covers the many petrels, ducks, gulls, terns and other seabirds, as well as the rich abundance of life existing under the waves, that populate the vast Atlantic region from the British Isles to Newfoundland.
Out Stealing Horses
A deliberate and astonishing novel. Looking back on his early childhood in rural Norway, Trond Sander fixates on a fateful summer. In 1948, after the death of a child, his father's decision to abandon the family and the crippling guilt of his best friend, the course of Sander's life would be altered forever.
The Northern Lights, Celestial Performances of the Aurora Borealis
Shot in Alaska, one of the best places to watch the Northern Lights, these images capture the natural phenomenon in all its splendor and majesty. Hall and Pederson’s 160 photographs were taken with ultra-HD cameras during a period of unusually high solar activity.
A Naturalist's Guide to the Arctic
Our bestselling book on the Arctic, this guide covers the geography and climate, plants, birds and wildlife of the Circumpolar North.
Norway Map
A handsome map of Norway at a scale of 1:1,000,000, with a place index and shaded relief.
Program No.
23067
Duration
15 days
Program Begins
Bergen, Norway
Program Concludes
Bergen, Norway
Activity Level
At a Glance
Take a front-row seat for nature’s own theater, voyaging above the Arctic Circle to learn about the Arctic night sky and the luminous green curtains of the northern lights, the aurora borealis. With an astronomy expert, sail along Norway’s coast during polar nights when the sun doesn’t make it over the horizon and snow-clad mountains provide a matchless backdrop. Sail through pristine islands, past majestic mountains and go ashore in enchanting towns such as Tromsø, Ålesund and Trondheim on this special adventure discovering science in the skies at the northern tip of Norway.
Best of all, you'll...
- Sail along the breathtaking and rugged coast of Norway as you hunt for the incomparably beautiful display put on by the aurora borealis.
- Look out across the Arctic Ocean from the North Cape, the northernmost point on the European continent.
- Explore the beauty and history of Bergen with a local expert surrounded by the Seven Mountains.
Featured Expert
Ron Waldron
Ron Waldron is an educator with over three decades of classroom teaching experience in the Saskatoon Public School Division. He introduced several portable planetariums to the division, and as planetarium director, he trained over 200 teachers in their use. An avid amateur astronomer, Ron continues to be an active member of the Saskatoon Centre, Royal Astronomical Society of Canada where he has served in numerous executive capacities. Ron is the proprietor of Living Skies Stargazing, dedicated to providing telescopic views of the universe.
Please Note:
This expert may not be available for every date of the program
Don Hladiuk
Don Hladiuk has twice been president of the Calgary chapter of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC). He can be heard on the CBC's "Calgary EyeOpener,” where he shares his passion for space exploration. Don was a lecturer for Road Scholar’s “Astronomy Above the Arctic Circle” program, and has introduced many groups to the beauty of the Aurora Borealis. He has also been a leader on several solar eclipse expeditions, observing 16 total solar eclipses, three annular eclipses, and two rare Venus transits.
Bob King
Bob King fell in love with the night sky and astronomy when he was a kid and loves to share his passion with people of all ages. Bob writes the Explore the Night column and Celestial Calendar for Sky & Telescope's website and magazine, teaches community education astronomy, and pens the Astro Bob blog. His latest book, Magnificent Aurora, is a comprehensive guide to the northern and southern lights. He lives in Duluth, Minnesota with his wife and has two adult daughters.
Alan Dyer
Alan Dyer has served on Road Scholar Norway excursions since 2017. He sees and photographs the Northern Lights frequently from his rural backyard in Alberta, Canada. But in addition to Norway, he often makes trips to more northern latitudes to chase the Lights. In Churchill, he serves as an instructor for Road Scholar aurora-viewing field trips to the Churchill Northern Studies Centre. Alan is co-author of the guidebook to amateur astronomy, 'The Backyard Astronomer’s Guide,' and is a contributing editor to Sky & Telescope magazine.
Activity Level
On Your Feet
Walking up to 2 miles per day over various types of terrain; walking up stairs unassisted, getting in and out of motor coaches.
Suggested Reading List
View Full List: 17 Books
You can also find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
HAVE QUESTIONS?
Prefer to enroll or inquire by phone?
We can help. Give us a call, and we can answer all of your questions!
Call
800-454-5768
