What are the northern lights? What are the Northern Lights? Where can we see the northern lights? This former U.S. military base near the airport counts northern lights sightings 300 nights per year, and it hosts aurora excursions that include a tour to witness the phenomenon and an overnight stay on the Greenland Ice Sheet (an experience typically reserved solely for research and expedition purposes). In Scotland, the lights go by a decidedly more British name: the Mirrie Dancers. If you’re wondering how this natural phenomenon occurs, we uncover it all for you. The Menominee Indians of Wisconsin believed that the lights indicated the location of manabai’wok (giants) who were the spirits of great hunters and fishermen. Dynamic Variation: But never take the northern lights for granted. It is easiest to see the northern lights in winter when is it very dark at night, and also outside of cities and away from street lights and other light pollution. Ancient Greek poets used the name metaphorically to refer to dawn, often mentioning its play of colours across the otherwise dark sky. Our bold claim is that this part of Norway, with its multiple islands, deep fjords and steep mountains, is among the most beautiful and interesting places to see the northern lights. The Northern Lights, also called the Polar Lights or Aurora Borealis, have been seen as far down as the middle of Ohio and Missouri, but they extend further overhead the more north you go. The Inuit of Alaska believed that the lights were the spirits of the animals they hunted: the seals, salmon, deer and beluga whales. The bitter cold that often comes with witnessing the northern lights can be a real deterrent. Located in the countryside, the hotel experiences minimal light pollution, making for optimal viewing conditions during the season (August through the first days of May). They are only visible near the north and south poles. Blue Lagoon and Northern Lights From $792 - One holiday brings you two of Iceland's most alluring attractions. Some people claim the aurora comes out when temperatures are colder. Technically, the Northern Lights are present for much of the year, there just aren’t enough hours of darkness to see them during the summer months. Really you can consider anywhere with a magnetic latitude above 55° and low light pollution as a possible location to catch a glimpse. In the solar maximum, the sun is more “active”, leading to northern lights that are caused by solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporation. Our eyes see green best out of all the colours, so we see green the brightest when we look at the northern lights. Fairbanks is generally recognised as the capital of the Northern Lights hunt in Alaska, it is just below the Artic circle so the views are not necessarily the very best, but the aurora do seem to occur most commonly here. this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. And then by the time winter has fully set in around January, the Northern lights can be seen throughout Swedish Lapland, which is the large expanse of land in the northwest corner of Sweden that covers nearly a quarter of the country. Depending on cloud conditions, light pollution, and the night’s auroral activity, you could spend hours watching the neon shades of green and yellow. They can be seen particularly well in the area of Kangerlussuaq due to its stable micro climate, but other hotspots for the light shows are Disko Bay, East Greenland and Nuuk. Doze off watching the dancing display from within a glass igloo at romantic Kakslauttanen Resort, north of … The Northern Lights are caused by the interaction of the solar wind - a stream of charged particles escaping the Sun - and our planet's magnetic field and atmosphere. You can also sign up for Northern Lights forecast email alerts that tell you when activity rises above four to five on the Kp scale. Catching the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) at least once is high up on many travellers' bucket lists. Although the northern lights are more common near the Arctic, this county is far enough north for the Aurora Borealis to make an appearance. When it comes to where you could go, Rodney recommends northern spots like Fairbanks, Alaska, Whitehorse, Yellowknife and Churchill in Canada, and Iceland and northern Norway. It 's called after guarantee of spotting the northern lights Variation: but take! 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