Where is it?
Arctic Circle, however can sometimes be seen as far south as North America
Can be seen
The lights are visible from September to April
Did you know?
The Inuit of Alaska believed the lights were the spirits of the animals they hunted (more facts)
A little more on the Aurora Borealis
On a clear, dark night in the Arctic Circle, nature can put on a spectacular display. The Aurora Borealis, commonly known as the Northern Lights, is a phenomenon that creates ribbons of light that dance across the sky. Greens, whites, reds are some of the colours that can be seen in a show that can last minutes or hours.
The Northern Lights are named after Aurora, the Roman goddess of dawn, and Boreas the Greek north wind god. The reason the lights occur is that electrons and protons from the sun travel all the way to Earth on the Solar Wind. Once close to the Earth, they are attracted to the magnetic poles, until BANG! The particles hit the earth’s atmosphere (Oxygen and Nitrogen) and ignite. The more particles from the sun, the greater and longer the show will be. Of course, if there isn’t much solar activity happening, there will be no lights. This solar activity can be tracked, so make sure you check with the experts before heading out.
