When placed the nearest cache to this location was over 10km away.
But take comfort that you are in civilisation as the coordinates
take you to the Kagyu Samyé Ling Monastery and Tibetan Centre, which
is well worth a look around and has a little shop and tea room
(opening times vary). The cache itself is a short drive away
and you need to work out the coordinates; but chasing the Northern
Lights is always a challenge. This cache is best solved before you
set out, as mobile signal here can be patchy.
northern lights aurora
borealis
Traveling roads and passing through
It's not for money and it's not for fame
The northern lights are in my mind
They guide me back to you
Eskdalemuir geomagnetic observatory was built in this remote
location because, with the advent of electric trams in London,
there was too much interference for the sensitive instruments at
their previous location in Kew. Sometimes, when there is a
particularly intense solar wind, the northern lights or aurora
borealis can be seen from southern Scotland... or at least they
would be, if it wasn’t for the cloudy Scottish weather.
However, even if we can’t see the ethereal hues of the aurora
they can still be picked up here in this valley. As well as
aurora, storms, earthquakes, nuclear tests and occasionally
even sunshine are recorded at Eskdalemuir geophysical and
meteorological observatory.
To find the cache you need to do two things: first a little
internet research to find the answers to the questions set below,
and then some simple maths to reveal the final coordinates. Each
letter u-z represents an integer between 1 and 99.
- Eskdalemuir observatory opened in which year?
Answer: 190u
- How many letters are there in the name of the group who
sang 'Northern Lights'?
Answer: v
- In which year was the British Geological Survey
established?
Answer: 18w
- On the Richter scale, what was the magnitude of the
tragic seismic event that was registered at Eskdalemuir on
21/12/1988?
Answer: x.6
- The largest ever solar storm recorded, disrupting global
telecommunications, occurred in which year?
Answer: 18y
- What is the maximum level of solar activity according to
the K-index?
Answer: z
Now put the answers into the equations below to work out the final
cache co-ordinates:
This cache was placed to commemorate our first sighting of
the aurora borealis from a few miles away in January 2012. This
cache is doable at night so why not see if you can be lucky too -
keep looking north!
Think you've sussed it? You can check your answer for this
puzzle on
Geochecker.com.