Astronomical Dating of Edvard Munch's Summer Sky Paintings

Norwegian painter Edvard Munch, most famous for \emph{The Scream}, created many spectacular works depicting the skies of Norway. Our Texas State group used astronomical methods to analyze three of these paintings: \emph{Starry Night, The Storm, and Sunrise in Asgardstrand}. Astronomical dating of these paintings has some importance because the precise days when Munch visited Asgardstrand are unknown. Our research group traveled to Norway in August 2008 to find the locations from which Munch painted these three works. We then used astronomical calculations, topographical analysis, historical photographs, and weather records to determine the precise dates and times for the scenes depicted in these paintings.