Iceland

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harlequin2902
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Iceland

Post by harlequin2902 »

I'm going with my wife in June.

Anyone has experience with the skies over there? How is it at night, in Reykjavik?
Light pollution as bad as Singapore? Clear? Cloudy?

I'm thinking of bringing a scope there as there's probably little else to see and do in the evenings once the sun goes down.

Toying with the idea of flying in an 80mm short tube achromat in time for my trip and mounting it on my Nexstar mount for some GOTO action over there. All these should be able to fit into a cabin-sized carry on.

Cheers.
Samuel Ng
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orly_andico
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Re: Iceland

Post by orly_andico »

Sunrise in Iceland in June would be at 5:15 a.m. and sunset at 9:45 p.m. So add an hour of twilight and this means you have about 4-5 hours of darkness tops.
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harlequin2902
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Re: Iceland

Post by harlequin2902 »

orly_andico wrote:Sunrise in Iceland in June would be at 5:15 a.m. and sunset at 9:45 p.m. So add an hour of twilight and this means you have about 4-5 hours of darkness tops.
Noted. But how clear / dark are the skies over there?
Samuel Ng
1DegreeN
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Re: Iceland

Post by 1DegreeN »

I've never lived in Iceland but I have lived in Scotland and both countries' climates are dominated by weather systems coming in off the Atlantic which means unpredictable but usually wet and windy. The winds may blow the clouds away but the skies will not be dark. In Scotland in June twilight lasts all night and only the brightest stars are visible. Iceland is 8 degrees further north. Sunset will be at midnight local time and sunrise just 3 hours later and the sun will never be more than 4 or 5 degrees below the horizon - so think Singapore 20 minutes after sunset or before sunrise. I'm not sure your scope will be very useful. But Iceland will be a fantastic place to visit - glaciers and volcanoes and those twilit nights can be magical. Hope you have a great time there.
John
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harlequin2902
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Re: Iceland

Post by harlequin2902 »

[smilie=good-job.gif] Thanks for the advice 1DegreeN!
1DegreeN wrote:I've never lived in Iceland but I have lived in Scotland and both countries' climates are dominated by weather systems coming in off the Atlantic which means unpredictable but usually wet and windy. The winds may blow the clouds away but the skies will not be dark. In Scotland in June twilight lasts all night and only the brightest stars are visible. Iceland is 8 degrees further north. Sunset will be at midnight local time and sunrise just 3 hours later and the sun will never be more than 4 or 5 degrees below the horizon - so think Singapore 20 minutes after sunset or before sunrise. I'm not sure your scope will be very useful. But Iceland will be a fantastic place to visit - glaciers and volcanoes and those twilit nights can be magical. Hope you have a great time there.
John
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AstroDan
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Re: Iceland

Post by AstroDan »

Yes sky over Scotland in June is clear and stars are visible. Rest of the year is cloudy , so it's not the best place to watch sky. Anyway like 1DegreeN said weather is unpredictable especially over UK. I heard you can see Northern Lights in Iceland. Best time to see nothern lights is September to mid-April.
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