Dear Tony Extreme latitudes are not extreme only when it comes to the climate and the behavior of the sun. Using a compass to find geographical north at Longyearbyen might be easier said than done. The alignment of the magnetic field at Longyearbyen might vary during the day and from day to day as it is influenced by the activity of the aurora borealis.
Tromsø Geophysical Observatory have a magnetometer at Longyearbyen and the present changes of the magnetic field might bee seen here: http://geo.phys.uit.no/realtime2.html. If you scroll down the page, you'll see that the disturbance is less further south. An other problem: at Longyearbyen they usually have the highest aurora activity during daytime. You might want to communicate with Truls Lynne Hansen at (see http://geo.phys.uit.no/about/about.html) at Tromsø Geophysical Observatory, in order to learn how to get the information on the alignment of the magnetic field when you are aligning the sundial. Best wishes for you and the sundial! AnneB -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of tony moss Sent: Saturday, February 28, 2004 12:51 PM To: Sundial Mail List Subject: Magnetic variation. Fellow Shadow Watchers, Next week I will be setting off for Longyearbyen on Spitsbergen in the Svalbard group of islands 500 miles north of Tromso to install their new 24 hour stainless steel sundial. As any diallist is painfully aware the most probable event for dial installation is an obscured sun all day so for the purposes of the inauguration ceremony and photoshoot we may be forced to do the diallistically unspeakable viz. a temporary magnetic alignment so that at least it looks OK -ish. Having consulted various geomagnetic websites for that area, like Omar Khayyam, I "Came out by the same Door as in I went" because the magnetic map at 78° 12' North 15° 40' is exceedingly complex. Can anyone tell me the likely current magnetic variation at those coordinates please? Thanks in anticipation. Tony Moss P.S. I bought my snow boots yesterday and overnight we had a full six inches of white stuff in which to try them out so I hope the same Good Luck continues. - -
