Between August 27 and September 7, the Shelios 2023 expedition took a group of researchers and students to South Iceland and Greenland, where two experiments were set up to measure the natural darkness of night in the Arctic and to broadcast aurora borealis. Among the devices installed was the MiNiO controller ( Meteo Nano Observatory) developed by the Instituto Tecnológico de Energías Renovables (ITER), for the Interreg EELabs project, coordinated by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC).
In addition to raising public awareness of the problem of light pollution and extending legislation on the protection of the night sky and ecosystems, the main objective of the Interreg EELabs project is to deploy laboratories to measure the natural darkness of the night. Over the past three years, several technological developments have been made to this end. Among them are the MiNiO(Meteo Nano Observatory) controllers.
These devices complement the functionality of the laboratories since, in addition to being equipped with an SG-WAS photometer to measure the brightness of the night sky, they are equipped with a surveillance system consisting of a front camera and a zenithal camera that allows the analysis of the environment and the sky, respectively. In some installations, they also include a thermographic sensor to analyze the temperature of the environment and detect moving objects, even in complete darkness.
Given the need to install MiNiOs in natural environments, lacking electricity supply, a system has been developed to provide them with energy autonomy by taking advantage of the available solar resource. This system is composed of a modular structure with a photovoltaic solar panel, an accumulation system and a Smart Power Supply (SPS) that allows the continuous operation of the device. In this way they can be installed and send their data from places that are very difficult to access.
After testing the prototypes at the Teide Observatory (Tenerife) to analyze their behavior under real operating conditions, they have been installed at different sites. However, they are still in the process of improvement and development.
Currently, there are three deployed. The first one, located in La Rambleta (upper building of the Teide Cable Car, Tenerife), has been used as a test bench because it has been subjected to extreme conditions of altitude (3500m approx.), temperature and connectivity. The analyzed results were used to improve future installations that have been carried out on the Pico do Arieiro, in Madeira (Portugal); and in front of the Qaleraliq Glacier (in South Greenland). The next one will be installed on Corvo Island, in the Azores (Portugal) and will provide LoRa coverage to the Caldeirão photometers.
Aurora borealis from Greenland
Over the last few months, an increase in solar activity has been observed as our nearest star approaches the equator of its 25th cycle. The Sun is an electrically charged ball of gas (plasma) burning at its center. The motion of this plasma generates a powerful magnetic field that changes polarity approximately every 11 years, giving rise to what are called solar cycles. After a period of low activity, the number of spots and bulges increases, so that, during the coming months and years, polar auroras will also increase.
“We have returned to Greenland with the new solar maximum, which is showing more activity than expected. This is our third maximum on the south Greenland glaciers. We were there in 2000 and 2015 when we could already observe a clear retreat of the Qaleraliq glacier, one of the largest fronts in southern Greenland. This year, in addition to installing a network of photometers and sky cameras, we have observed, first-hand, the evolution of the Arctic ice,” says Miquel Serra-Ricart, coordinator of the EELabs project and head of the Shelios 2023 expedition.
When the solar wind, very energetic particles that are born in our star, reach the Earth’s magnetic field, this attracts them towards the poles, producing what we know as Aurora Borealis, if they enter through the North Pole; or Aurora Australis, if they enter through the South Pole. The auroras are formed in the Earth’s upper atmosphere and appear as luminous curtains of light, ranging from green to red. This change in hue is due to the collisions of electrons from the solar wind with oxygen atoms (greenish tones) or nitrogen molecules (reddish tones). During the Shelios 2023 expedition, the team was able to broadcast this phenomenon from the Fletanes camp, in front of the Qaleraliq glacier. This live broadcast is part of the dissemination activities of the Interreg EELabs project.
Link to the rebroadcast: https://youtu.be/AdLKZKo15-o
The Route of the Stars
Created in 2004 with the aim of promoting scientific vocations among high school students and other educational centers, once again this year the Star Route has taken a group of students, on this occasion, to the south of Iceland and Greenland. The expedition was the finishing touch to a process that began years ago and that the participants have summarized as “an unforgettable experience”.
EELabs(eelabs.eu) is a project funded by the INTERREG V-A MAC 2014-2020 Program, co-financed by the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) of the European Union, under contract number MAC2/4.6d/238. EELabs involves 5 centers in Macaronesia (IAC, ITER, UPGC, SPEA-Azores, SPEA-Madeira). The objective of EELabs is to create Laboratories to measure the Energy Efficiency of Artificial Night Light in natural protected areas of Macaronesia (Canary Islands, Madeira and Azores).
Images of the Auroras obtained in 2023: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAUE1c
Receding Qaleraliq glacier front (South Greenland): https://flic.kr/p/2p9BAXu
