Hi everybody

Here's the latest article from the Astronomy site at BellaOnline.com.

Hurtigruten - Seeing the Northern Lights
What would it be like to take an astronomy tour on the Hurtigruten? Here is an account of some of the highlights of a trip around the coast of Norway in search of the northern lights. We heard stories of the constellations and then found them in the sky. And one night we saw the aurora dancing.

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art178949.asp

The article is the second part of my look at the Hurtigruten astronomy tours. There are a number of images associated with the article, including some of the photos taken by people on the ship. I’ve pinned a selection of them here: http://pinterest.com/astrobella/seeing-the-northern-lights/

*Sir Patrick Moore (1923-2012)*
One of the world’s most famous amateur astronomers, Patrick Moore, died on December 9th. He presented the BBC TV program “The Sky at Night” for over half a century and produced hundreds of books. Moore inspired generations of young people to take up astronomy as amateurs or even professionals.

*Geminids have been and gone*
Reports came from around the world about the mid-December meteor shower. Some observers said it was the best in over two decades. The rate was over a hundred an hour at some times.

SpaceWeather has a Geminid photo gallery at http://spaceweather.com/gallery/index.php?title=meteor&title2=geminid
I pinned my favorite. http://pinterest.com/pin/250090585529257034/ It really is a stunner. The meteor is above a beautiful mountain in Iceland, by an icy sea with an aurora in the background. Wow!

For a variety of astronomy images, follow me on Pinterest at: http://pinterest.com/astrobella/

To participate in online discussions, this site has a community forum all about Astronomy located here - http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=323

Please visit astronomy.bellaonline.com for even more great content about Astronomy.

I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I welcome your feedback!

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I wish you clear skies.

Mona Evans,
Astronomy Editor

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