Interview

Lucy Jago discusses The Northern Lights, Norwegian scientist Kristian Birkeland, and the history behind the scientific “hunch” that led Birkeland through years of tracking the aurora borealis.

When did you first learn about the Norwegian scientist Kristian Birkeland, and what drew you to write a book about his life and discoveries?
While making a film about the sun for a BBC Science series called "The Planets," I looked for ways to illustrate the influences our star has on the earth besides providing heat and light. The aurora are the most dramatic, mysterious phenomena caused by the sun so I contacted scientists at the Auroral Observatory in Troms for advice on when and how to film them. They provided me with the information I needed, and told me about an amazing machine they had just restored which could recreate the aurora in miniature. The man who had invented this machine, around 1905, was Kristian Birkeland. When I heard more about this fascinating, brilliant, but tragic figure, I was hooked and began to research more deeply into his life. I traveled to Norway during holidays to spend time in archives and up on mountains.

In the winter of 1899/1900, in the most northerly part of Norway, well into the Arctic Circle, Birkeland built an observatory to watch the aurora. I was lucky enough to arrive on the only day they had ever allowed "skidoos" up Haldde mountain and so I hitched a ride to the top...