The Northern lights, or, Aurora Borealis, are a natural light phenomenon that exists throughout the year. They are mostly seen in polar regions. They are the result of disturbances in the magnetosphere caused by solar wind. We can see the northern lights when electrons and protons precipitate into the upper atmosphere.
The auroras are mostly located 90 to 150 km above the ground. Depending on how the high the Northern lights are, we will be able to see them in different colors. Here in Lapland we mostly see green auroras but when we have high solar winds, we can see other colors as well.
When and where can i FIND the Aurora?
In the Finnish Lapland, we have Northern lights on over 200 nights a year. The Northern lights exist all year round, but can only be seen for a part of the year. The Aurora Borealis can be seen in Lapland from autumn to spring. The reason why the summer is a poor time for Northern light spotting is, that in this region it is light outside all the the time. During the polar day the sun doesn’t set. This phenomenon, however, sets ideal conditions for northern light watching in the wintertime, as the dark time of the day is very long.
In the most remote places here in Rovaniemi, the starry sky seems to become 3-dimensional, as some stars seem to be further away than others. On our Northern lights tour we want to take you to a remote location to give you the best chance for Northern light watching.The sky has to be dark enough for you to be able to see the Aurora with your own eyes, so we will drive away from the light pollution.
WEATHER
The rule of thumb of Aurora spotting is, that you have to be able to see the stars in order to be able to spot the Northern lights. Therefore, there is no chance for seeing the aurora when the weather is cloudy. Quite often in the wintertime there seems to be a cloud cover over the immediate city center of Rovaniemi. The sky will clear up just a couple of kilometers away from the city. That’s why we don’t trust our eyes only but follow the weather forecasts and cloud maps as well.
Using online services to predict the Northern lights
We use several online services to predict the likelihood for the Northern lights. We follow the solar activity online at aurora.fmi.fi,which is a service provided by the Finnish Meteorological Institute. Northern lights can be seen only when the sky is clear, and another forecast that we keep an eye on is the cloud weather forecast. We also use an app called My Aurora Forecast.
If you’re interested in capturing these lights in a photo, check out our guide for photographing Northern lights! This guide will give you a basic understanding of the camera settings. We will help you to take pictures during our Northern lights tour, and give you more detailed tips as well.
