THE MIDNIGHT SUN - JUNE 1981

FROM TRONDHEIM TO THE ARCTIC CIRCLE AND BODO


"SUMMER SNOW - From Trondheim, home to the Rosenborg Ballklubs - traditional winner of the Norwegian football league - the train heads north to Bodø passing through snow-capped hills"



"TRAIN - From Trondheim to Mo I Rana the train runs 480 km, sometimes remembering the railway line from Oporto to Régua, except the snow"


"ARCTIC CIRCLE - one of the 5 major latitude circles. The position of the Arctic Circle depends of the axial tilt of the polar axis of rotation of the Earth on the ecliptic, an angle which is not constant. Due to nutation the tilt oscillates over 9" in a period of 18.6 years. The main long-term cycle has a period of 41000 years and an amplitude of about 0.68º, or 76 km on the surface. Currently the tilt is decreasing by about 0.47" per year, so the Circle is moving north by 14m per year. The stone pyramid marks its location"


"BODO, latitude 67°17'N, at the mouth of the Saltfjord, is the administrative centre of Nordland county. On May 20, 1816 the Norwegian parliament formally granted Bodø township status, but on May 27th, 1940 a German attack destroyed most of the town. Bodø received unwanted international attention in two other situations: in 1818, the so-called Bodø Incident, a smuggling case created diplomatic complications with England, ending with the Norwegian/Swedish union having to pay a sizeable fine; on May 1st 1960, the world became aware that the American U2 spy plane headed for Bodø never arrived, but was shot down over the Soviet Union"


"SAS HOTEL - Though it was freezing outside (3º/4º centigrade), men needed a tie to get into the bar on the top floor..."


"HARBOUR - Vital spot for the Bodø economy. Catch a glimpse of the place with the harbour web camera"


"WIND - Bodø is one of Norway's most windy cities"


MIDNIGHT SUN - In Bodø the sun is continuously visible from June 2 through July 10. The further north one goes, the more days the midnight sun can be experienced. At Finland's northernmost point, for instance, the sun does not set for 73 days during summer. The opposite phenomenon, polar night, is observed in winter when the sun is below the horizon, so that there is no sunlight at all"