Northern Lights aka Aurora Borealis.. All you wanted to know

All you wanted to know about Northern Lights aka Aurora

One of the most important question that most of us visiting to Norway is that how can we see Northern lights? When can we see them and how to plan for them? Forunately, the author of this blog has been lucky enough to witness this heavenly phenomenon :) If you are in hurry, jump straight to My Two Cents.

This page should therefore address most of your queries pertaining to this majestic event. Stay glued.

1. When can you see Aurora?
2. Best Time to see Aurora
3. The best place to view Auroras
4. Can you plan for Aurora?
5. My Two cents
6. Web References

 

When can you see Aurora?

The most suitable time to witness the event is between November till March every year. As you know that Auroras can be only seen in night,  beyond these months,  the sky becomes too bright to see the event. Within these months, the coldest months of Jan and early Feb maximizes your chances of viewing the event.

Best Time to see Aurora

Most Auroras are said to appear between 6pm and 2am. However, based on our local tour guide, the peak displays should be visible between 9pm-11pm, from the Northern direction.

The best place to view Auroras

The best place to see Auroras in Norway is: Tromsø. It is roughly 1700 Kms north of Oslo and situated right in the centre of Auroral belt. There are several regular flights operated by Norwegian Air shuttle and SAS between Oslo and Tromsø and connectivity is generally not a problem.

On rare occasions, when the solar activity is extremely high, it might be possible to view Auroras from as south as Oslo, but chances of this happening are slim. You can check the Auroral forecast within next 24 hours at Alaska University website and NOAA website (beta). More Kp level means, more will be the intensity of the Aurora and brighter will be the displays! Kp levels of 4 or more should give you stunning displays.

However, within Tromsø city, it is difficult to view Aurora due to intensity of the city lights, unless Aurora is of very high intensity. Within Tromsø, the best places to see Aurora and accessible by public transport are:

1. Fjellheisen: Take a cable car to Storsteinen (Big Rock) on mount Fløya, 421 meters above sea level. This place gives a stunning panoramic view of city of Tromsø
2. Northern forests of Tromsø (Take bus 20 and get down the last stop towards the North)
3. Kvaløya (literally translated as Whale Island due to its shape)
4. A beach close to Tromsø museum

Farther outside the city you move, darker it becomes and better it is to view Aurora. During the time of our trip, due to bad weather, we had to visit uptil Finnish border to witness the event!! In general, there is a local saying that if you stay at least 5 days in Tromsø, you should be able to see Aurora at least once :D

Can you plan for Aurora?

Yes and No!

Auroras are dependent on solar flares,and it is possible that there are none or negligible, when you visit Tromsø. A sureshot but fairly expensive way to guarantee witnessing the Aurora would be to check the Aurora forecast in next 24 hours here and then check the weather forecast here. If there are no clouds, then you have the maximum probability of seeing the beauty.

Having said that, Tromsø has one of the most dynamic weather that I have seen in my life. It starts snowing within 5 minutes and then again bright sun in another 5 mins and then clouds. When people in Tromsø say that they can't predict the weather, they mean it!! So, in the end, it all depends on your luck.

My Two cents

1. If you land up at Tromsø and Auroral alert is at low level, weather is cloudy and you are unsure whether you can see the event or not, then book a light chase tour. They are fairly expensive (upto 900 NOK/night) but maximize your chances of viewing the event. I recommend Arctic Guide Services (Facebook Page & Website). The guides are extremely professional and helpful and will take that extra mile to help you see the event. Special thanks to our beautiful guide Anja & helpful Massimo, without whom it wouldn't have been possible for us to view the event.
2. Do NOT forget to bring your tripod and Professional Camera. Point and shoot camera are perhaps useless
3. Do NOT forget good winter clothing and snow shoes
4. Everything is extremely expensive here. Prices are almost 25% - 40% more than those at Oslo. To put thing quantitatively, get a reality check about prices of daily need items at Oslo in 2011, here.
5. If possible, try to get in touching with someone local. If you are lucky enough to find lovely hosts as ours (Sandra & Børge), nothing like that. Not only they can guide you about Tromsø and Sami people, but also can tell you about knitty-gritties of quite a lot of things such as attracting a Norwegian girls by techniques such as Ploughing to light painting;)
6. Whether you are able to see Northern lights or not, Tromsø is an amazing and beautiful city with equally friendly people, you won't regret a trip here.

Web References

1. All you wanted to know about Aurora @ Alaska University Website - http://www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast/Europe
2. Official Tromso tourism page -  http://www.visittromso.no/en/
3. Wikipedia Infobank - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_(astronomy)
4. Tromsø -  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tromsø
5. Tromsø Weather forecast - http://www.yr.no/place/Norway/Troms/Tromsø/Tromsø/

(Image courtesy: Our friendly British co-tourist Helen :)

Do not shy to post queries here, should you have one. I will be glad to answer.
Good Luck. Let there be lights!