While these domes look like they should be in a movie set depicting a galaxy far, far away, they"re actually part of a scientific research station here on planet Earth. Kjell Henriksen Observatory is named for a Norwegian scientist whose research focused on the polar lights. The aurora borealis is frequently seen here, deep within the Arctic Circle in Norway"s remote Svalbard territory. And the observatory is specially designed to observe the aurora. Since it opened in 2008, the observatory has become a destination for atmospheric scientists, who can rent one of these 30 glass-topped rooms built to house high-end optical instruments.
Kjell Henriksen Observatory
Today in History
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J.R.R. Tolkien Day
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The Girl Scouts celebrate 110 years
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Happy St. Patricks Day!
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Edinburgh festivals
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Celebrating National Panda Day
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Labor Day parade in 1915 Chicago
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Celebrating Charles Darwin
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World Oceans Day
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Zoroaster Temple, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
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Bobbing for crab apples
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Endangered Species Day
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Meet the slowest flirt in the animal world
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Stari Most in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Methoni Castle, Messenia, Greece
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International Polar Bear Day
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Pretty poetic for a pit
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A grand event
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Black History Month
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Edinburgh Festival Fringe
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Travel Sunday: Sintra, Portugal
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Southern right whales sail home to South Africa
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A look at Uranus, seventh planet from the sun
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Venice by night
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Fall comes to the Last Frontier
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A theatrical dream
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1, 1, 2, 3: It s Fibonacci Day!
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International Literacy Day
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It s National Hispanic Heritage Month
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Paper lanterns on the longest night
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Take me to the river