Mandalen, Norway

Mandalen, Norway, Mandal (help·info) is a town and municipality in Vest-Agder county, Norway. Mandalselva is a salmon river that flows through the town and has its river mouth outside town. Mandal has many small, white-painted wooden houses, which is typical of towns at the South Coast of Norway (S?rlandet). The administrative center of the municipality is the town of Mandal.

The town of Mandal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The rural municipalities of Halse og Harkmark and Holum were merged with Mandal on 1 January 1964.

Mandal borders Lindesnes to the west and northwest, Marnardal to the north, S?gne to the east. It is the southernmost town of Norway and the skerry Pysen (south of the town) is the southernmost point of land.

Besides Mandal proper, Mandal municipality includes the villages (delomr?de) of Bykjernen, Skjebstad, S?num-Lundevik, Skogsfjord-Hesland, Holum, Harkmark, Skinsnes-Ime, Tregde-Skjern?y.

Midnight Sun Norway

Midnight Sun Norway, The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon occurring in summer months at latitudes north and nearby to the south of the Arctic Circle, and south and nearby to the north of the Antarctic Circle where the sun remains visible at the local midnight. Given fair weather, the sun is visible for a continuous 24 hours, mostly north of the Arctic Circle and south of the Antarctic Circle. The number of days per year with potential midnight sun increases the farther poleward one goes from the equator. Although approximately defined by the polar circles, in practice midnight sun can be seen as much as 90 km beyond the polar circle, because the sun is a disk and not a point, and the exact latitudes of the farthest reaches of midnight sun depend on topography and vary slightly year-to-year.

There are no permanent human settlements south of the Antarctic Circle, so the countries and territories whose populations experience it are limited to the ones crossed by the Arctic Circle, e.g. Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut), Denmark (Greenland), Finland, S?pmi, Norway, Russia, Sweden, the United States (Alaska), and extremities of Iceland. A quarter of Finland’s territory lies north of the Arctic Circle and at the country’s northernmost point the sun does not set at all for 60 days during summer. In Svalbard, Norway, the northernmost inhabited region of Europe, there is no sunset from approximately 19 April to 23 August. The extreme sites are the poles where the sun can be continuously visible for a half year.

The opposite phenomenon, polar night, occurs in winter when the sun stays below the horizon throughout the day.

Since the Earth’s axis is tilted with respect to the ecliptic by approximately 23 degrees 27 minutes, the sun does not set at high latitudes in (local) summer. The duration of the midnight sun increases from one day during the summer solstice at the polar circle to approximately six months at the poles. At extreme latitudes, it is usually referred to as polar day. The length of the time the sun is above the horizon varies from a couple of days at the Arctic Circle and Antarctic Circle to 186 days at the poles.

At the poles themselves, the sun only rises once and sets once each year. During the six months when the sun is above the horizon at the poles, the sun spends the days constantly moving around the horizon, reaching its highest circuit of the sky at the summer solstice.

Due to refraction, the midnight sun may be experienced at latitudes slightly below the polar circle, though not exceeding one degree (depending on local conditions). For example, it is possible to experience the midnight sun in Iceland, even though most of it (Gr?msey being a notable exception) is slightly south of the Arctic Circle. Even the northern extremities of Scotland (and those places on similar latitudes) experience a permanent “dusk” or glare in the northern skies at these times.

Oslo Norway

Oslo Norway:DAILY GUIDANCE AND PRESS SCS-EX-DULE FOR
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2009

The President and the First Lady will arrive in Oslo, Norway in the morning. The arrival at Oslo Airport Gardermoen is open press.

The President and the First Lady will then attend the Nobel Peace Prize signing ceremony at the Norwegian Nobel Institute. There will be a travel pool spray.

The President will then meet with Prime Minister Stoltenberg at his office. There will be a limited pool spray at the top of the meeting. The President and the Prime Minister will then hold a joint press availability. There will be expanded travel pool coverage.

In the afternoon, the President and the First Lady will meet with King Harald V and Queen Sonja at the Royal Palace. There will be an official photo with limited pool spray access. The private audience is closed press.

The President and the First Lady will then attend the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony at the Oslo City Hall. The President will deliver remarks. This event is open press.

In the evening, the President and First Lady will attend the Nobel Banquet at the Grand Hotel. The President will deliver remarks. There will be a travel pool spray at the top as well as during the President’s remarks.

The President and First Lady will spend the night in Oslo.

Out-of-Town Travel Pool
Wires: AP, Reuters, Bloomberg
Wire Photos: AP, Reuters, AFP
TV Corr & Crew: FOX
Print: Wall Street Journal
Travel Photo: New York Times

CET

8:45AM TS-EX- PRESIDENT and TS-EX- FIRST LADY arrive in Oslo, Norway
Oslo Airport Gardermoen
Open Press

9:30AM TS-EX- PRESIDENT and TS-EX- FIRST LADY attend Nobel Peace Prize signing ceremony
Norwegian Nobel Institute
Travel Pool Spray

10:10AM TS-EX- PRESIDENT arrives and is greeted by Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg
Office of Prime Minister Stoltenberg
Travel Pool Coverage

10:15AM TS-EX- PRESIDENT meets with Prime Minister Stoltenberg
Office of Prime Minister Stoltenberg
Limited Pool Spray

10:45AM TS-EX- PRESIDENT and Prime Minister Stoltenberg hold joint press availability
Office of Prime Minister Stoltenberg
Expanded Travel Pool Coverage

12:10PM TS-EX- PRESIDENT and TS-EX- FIRST LADY take official photo with King Harald V and Queen Sonja
Royal Palace
Limited Pool Spray

12:15PM TS-EX- PRESIDENT and TS-EX- FIRST LADY have a private audience with King Harald V and Queen Sonja
Royal Palace
Closed Press

1:00PM TS-EX- PRESIDENT and TS-EX- FIRST LADY attend Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony; TS-EX- PRESIDENT will deliver remarks
Oslo City Hall
Open Press

7:05PM TS-EX- PRESIDENT and TS-EX- FIRST LADY greet the Torch Parade from the Grand Hotel Balcony
Grand Hotel
Travel Pool Coverage

7:15PM TS-EX- PRESIDENT and TS-EX- FIRST LADY are greeted by King Harald V and Queen Sonja and walk to Nobel Banquet
Grand Hotel
Host TV Coverage

7:30PM TS-EX- PRESIDENT and TS-EX- FIRST LADY attend Nobel Banquet
Grand Hotel
Travel Pool spray at the top//Travel Pool Spray during the President’s remarks

Norway Spiral Light

Norway Spiral Light:Norway spiral light in the sky…is it a UFO? (see video). On Tuesday night, the Norway sky filled with a spiral rotating light that some residents said was as big as the moon. The light stops, then spins into a spiral at a quick pace, and lasted 10-12 minutes before disappearing. No one seems to have the answer as to what it is.

Some witnesses thought it was computer generated, some thought it was a fireball meteor, and others thought it was a missile from Russia (the Russian military strongly denies), and some said it could be a Bulava missile from a submarine.

President Obama will soon travel to Norway to accept the Nobel Peace Prize.  The ‘net buzz on these videos are hot today because it just happened last night and because no one can seem to identify exactly what it is. See videos below.

Source:  My Fox Chicago

Norway Spiral

Norway Spiral,A mysterious spiral of light has appeared in northern Norway one day before President Obama arrives to give his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in Oslo. The spiral has baffled experts who do not believe it is related to the Aurora Borealis. Speculation that it is a rocket launched by the Russian Northern Fleet has been denied by Russian authorities. Similarly the Norwegian military has claimed no knolwedge of any rocket launches in the area. There has been speculation that it may be some exotic weapon system, the opening of a space-time portal, or even UFO activity. Obama’s arrival in Norway on December 10 to give his acceptance speech only adds to the mysterious appearance of the lights. Is it a pure coincidence or is it in some way related to Obama’s upcoming speech?

The object appeared on the morning of December 9 and has been photographed and filmed by thousands of Norwegians over a wide area ranging from Finnmark in the country’s north to Trondelang in the south. It is a giant spiral of green-blue light that appears directed towards a mountain. According to observers, a giant light spiral appeared and within seconds covered the entire sky. A green-blue beam of light then shot out from its center. Here is how Totto Eriksen, from Tromso, in northern Norway described it.

I was driving my daughter to school when this light spun and exploded in the sky. We saw it from the Inner Harbour in Tromso. It looked like a rocket that spun around and around – and then went diagonally across the heavens. It looked like the moon was coming over the mountain – but then turned into something totally different. People just stopped and stared on the pier – it was like something from a Hollywood movie.

The entire event lasted between two-three minutes before disappearing. Norway’s leading meteorologists are baffled, with most concluding it is some kind of rocket launch that went awry. Knut Jorgen Roed Odegaard, Norway’s most celebrated astronomer, said:

This was seen over an exceptionally large area of the country – in all of north Norway and the Trondelag. My first thought was that it was a fireball meteor – but it lasted far too long. It may have been a missile from Russia – but I can’t guarantee that is the answer. I rang the Air Traffic Control tower in Tromse. They said it was over in two minutes. To me, that is far too long for this to be an astronomical phenomenon. This spiral shape is unique. It is definitely not a variation of the aurora borealis – northern lights.

Obama’s December 10 Nobel Prize acceptance speech is expected to focus on international cooperation on the removal of nuclear weapons and promoting diplomatic solutions to global problems. Coming nine days after Obama’s announcement of a 30,000 troop surge for Afghanistan, it is expected that he will show his commitment to international diplomacy and cooperation. He may use the opportunity to launch a bold international initiative to achieve this end.

The appearance of the enormous light spiral in northern Norway may be a sheer coincidence and unrelated to his upcoming speech in Oslo. Alternatively, the mysterious spiral of light may be a sign from an unknown intelligence that Obama’s acceptance speech may be a catalyst for major global changes that lie ahead. With much speculation that the Obama administration is poised to make some kind of announcement concerning extraterrestrial life soon, the light may be sign for him to boldly go where no U.S. President has gone before.

Russia Today coverage of Norwegian Light