Northern Lights
As a naturally occurring phenomenon the appearance of the northern lights is notoriously difficult to predict any further in advance than about two hours before it happens.
Northern lights. Stunning displays color the skies in green pink red and purple. The lights are known as aurora borealis in the north and aurora australis in the south. While they are famous for dazzling across the night sky the northern lights are actually influenced by the activity of the sun. Auroras or aurorae sometimes referred to as polar lights aurora polaris northern lights aurora borealis or southern lights aurora australis is a natural light display in the earth s sky predominantly seen in high latitude regions around the arctic and antarctic.
Northern lights is one of the most beautiful natural phenomena. Northern lights can be seen in the northern or southern hemisphere in an irregularly shaped oval centred over each magnetic pole. It usually occurs during periods of peak solar activity. So much is dependent on solar activity and whilst we can estimate the number of sunspots that might occur on the sun we can accurately predict neither when they will occur nor how frequently.
From the long nights of december through february you might be able to see the northern lights as long as you have a good northern view. Rodney viereck of the national oceanic and atmosphere administration noaa in the us explained to lonely planet that the sun goes through a roughly 11 year cycle which includes three to four years of solar maximum. Spring march to may by the end of april as spring comes to the northern hemisphere your chances of seeing the northern lights in the usa will become increasingly limited. 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 are more formally known as auroras and are caused by interactions between the solar wind and the earth s magnetic field. Longer days and shorter nights make it less likely you ll see the aurora than earlier in the year. The otherworldly aurora borealis or northern lights begin high in the earth s atmosphere at altitudes from 60 to more than 250 miles when charged particles from the sun become trapped in. This natural wonder is caused by a solar wind when energetic particles float through the magnetic field of the earth.
Scientists have learned that in most instances northern and southern auroras are mirror like images that occur at the same time with similar shapes and colors.