Extraordinarily fascinating, the polar lights, whether boreal or southern , are today increasingly coveted by travelers who hope to have the chance to photograph them! If you also want to observe these marvelous sparkling ballets in the sky, discover the destinations where your dream will come true!
Ballets of lights, polar glows or even celestial dances… many are the names given to the polar auroras, these spectacular atmospheric phenomena which illuminate the sky with green, red, blue or violet rays. Referred to generically, the polar aurora is better known as the aurora borealis in the northern hemisphere and the aurora australis in the southern hemisphere.
When to observe an aurora?
The appearance of an aurora results from the collision of solar particles with the earth’s atmosphere and its magnetic field. Thus, the greater the solar activity, the greater the chance of seeing an aurora. Scientists have found that solar activity has a cycle of approximately 11 years.
The next peak of solar activity is therefore estimated around 2025 . Unpredictable, the auroras can only be observed under certain conditions: a location on the globe conducive to their observation, intense solar activity as well as a dark night where the sky is, if possible without a moon, clear of clouds and artificial lights. Generally, these extraordinary lights start appearing around 6 p.m. until the end of the night.
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Where to observe an aurora?
It is in the high latitude zones, closest to the poles and more precisely to the Arctic Circle (to the north) and the Antarctic Polar Circle (to the south), that we can best see twirling, among the stars, these magical draperies.
Note that the land suitable for observing an aurora is much greater in the northern hemisphere than in the southern hemisphere where the Antarctic Circle mainly crosses oceans and therefore little land. Places where you can observe the Northern Lights are therefore more appropriate.
How to recognize an aurora?
More or less intense, we mainly recognize an aurora by its particular color, green , red , purple and even sometimes white . Like a drapery fluttering in the wind, it comes to life gracefully before our eyes, sometimes very slowly, sometimes a little more quickly.
Northern Lights
Visible only in the Northern Hemisphere , the Northern Lights can usually be seen from late September to late March and, best of all, between November and January , during the polar nights , when the night is longest and darkest. During this period, these spectacular night lights light up the sky and offer a unique spectacle.
To see the Northern Lights, you should focus on high latitude areas, around the Arctic Circle . Thus, northern countries abound in land far from any light pollution. Finland, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Alaska, Greenland and even Russia… there are many places where the sky welcomes these flamboyant ballets.
To help you in your magical quest, here are some places where you will certainly have the chance to see the marvelous Northern Lights.
The Southern Lights
Sources of numerous legends, these sumptuous ballets in the sky are often compared to the Northern Lights. However, in the southern hemisphere , the auroras take the name of the lesser known auroras australis , although they are exactly the same atmospheric phenomenon, simply located in another place on earth!
Near the Antarctic Circle, when night falls, the “ southern lights ” set the black, clear sky ablaze and meander among the stars. Even if the Antarctic Circle does not pass almost any land, which reduces the places of observation, we can admire them from the ocean as well as from some lands far from the Polar Circle where they will nevertheless be more moderat.
