Why oh why am I never allowed to see the Aurora Borealis? It’s the solar storm of a lifetime up there, it was one of the main reasons for moving to Sweden, and now we have stupid clouds.

This is not the first time I’ve moved to a place for the astronomy. I pleaded with my parents to move to Australia in 1984 because Comet Halley was all set to make a splash in the southern hemisphere in 1986. (It proved worthwhile. And the southern sky is definitely more impressive than the northern offerings. Unless, of course, there are northern lights in them.)