Kjell Henriksen Observatory in Svalbard, Norway
© Vincent Fournier/Gallery Stoc
Studying the skies in Svalbard. Kjell Henriksen Observatory
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 polar lights. The aurora borealis is frequently seen here, deep within the Arctic Circle on 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 thirty glass-topped rooms built to house high-end optical instruments.
Related Images
Climbing Athabasca Glacier in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada as the Aurora Borealis glows
Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state
Yunishigawa Kamakura Festival in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan
Park City, Utah, for the Sundance Film Festival, which begins today
For Science Fiction Day, inventor Nikola Tesla and his ‘magnifying transmitter’
Snowy owl
A ladybird hibernates in Tewin, England
Boathouse on Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park, Alberta
Bing Today Images
Black-and-white ruffed lemur in Madagascar
Dec 28, 2025
Humpback whale, Disko Bay, Greenland
Dec 28, 2023
Maloja, Switzerland
Dec 28, 2022
Snow boarder in Whistler, B.C.
Dec 28, 2020
Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) in Hawaii
Dec 28, 2017
