Northern Lights

WHAT ARE THE NORTHERN LIGHTS?

Another name for the northern lights is Aurora Borealis. People have also called them polar lights, or Aurora Polaris. There are also southern lights known as Aurora Australis.

These beautiful displays appear in many colors although pale greens and pinks are the most common. Colorful tones of blues, greens, yellows, and varying reds, and purples have also been seen. The lights appear in many ways, from chunks of light to streamers, pillars of colored lights, rippling curtains or rays lighting up the night sky. 

We really don’t get to see these as much as we’d like to, and yes, they are every bit as beautiful and magical as you’ve ever heard. In the summer, it’s too bright. Being just above the 55-degree magnetic latitude, when we look to the north in the summertime, the sun is up there. Any night with a full moon is also too bright. The best time for viewing, from what I’ve been able to observe, is in the spring and fall, near the equinoxes. In March and September, the Earth’s magnetic field lets more solar particles through into the atmosphere to react with the atmospheric gases. The wintertime can be good viewing because the nights are darker, and generally clearer.

The most incredible display of these lights that I’ve ever seen was in the middle of winter. I stood outside, bundled up in a very warm parka, and watched them for at least half an hour. You really might see them at any time of year, although in the summer, you need to be out at the darkest time of the night.

The northern lights are sort of cyclical, giving the most spectacular displays about every 10 to 12 years, although the cycles vary in both strength and length. In 2013, a peak year, was one of the weakest solar cycles in a century. So far, 2021 has had some spectacular displays.

WHAT GIVES THE NORTHERN LIGHTS THEIR COLORS?

The colors of the Northern Lights are the result of gaseous particles, such as oxygen and nitrogen in the Earth’s atmosphere, colliding with charged particles released from the sun’s atmosphere as solar wind. The colors are also affected by altitude. The most common color, a very pale green, almost yellow, is produced by oxygen molecules almost 100 kilometers (60 miles) above the earth. All-red auroras are made by oxygen at a much higher altitude, at heights of up around 320 kilometers (200 miles). These are rare Nitrogen makes blue or purplish-red auroras.

WHY DO THE NORTHERN LIGHTS HAPPEN?

The center of the sun has a temperature of about 15 million degrees Celsius (27 million degrees Fahrenheit). The temperature above the surface of the sun is still millions of degrees Celsius. While the surface temperature of the sun rises and falls, the sun “boils”. At this temperature, gas molecules are slamming about all over the place. Particles of plasma escape from the surface’s sunspot regions by the rotation of the sun and get hurtled out through holes in the magnetic field. This is referred to as a solar storm, or also known as a geomagnetic storm.

These colorful lights which we see dancing in the night sky are impacts between highly energized particles from the sun, and Earth’s atmospheric gases. These particles of plasma, known as the solar winds, travelled around 150 million kilometers (93 million miles), and took about 40 hours to reach Earth’s atmosphere. Blown at the earth by the solar winds, most of the charged particles bounce off the earth’s magnetic field. However, the earth’s magnetic field is weaker at both of its poles and therefore the particles that are able to enter the earth’s atmosphere collide with its gaseous particles,  resulting in ripples of colored lights. They are generally seen closer to the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres.

The lights we see start around 80 kilometers (50 miles) above us, and they go up to approximately 650 kilometers (400ish miles) above us.

WHERE CAN I SEE THE NORTHERN LIGHTS?

Northern Lights can be seen in the northern hemisphere, generally above the 55-degree magnetic latitude. Even though the phenomena happen near the magnetic poles, there are many times that the northern lights have been seen as far south as the southern US border.  Not very often though. Scientists have learned that most of the time northern and southern auroras occur at the same time.

Areas that are dark at night, away from streetlights, are the best places to watch for the lights. Areas in the north, in smaller communities, are the best.

The best places to watch the lights in North America are in the northwestern parts of Canada, particularly the Yukon, Nunavut, Northwest Territories, and Alaska, a beautiful American state. The Aurora Borealis can also be seen over the south coasts of Greenland and Iceland, the north coast of Norway and over the water north of the Siberian region. 

WHERE CAN I SEE THE SOUTHERN LIGHTS?

Southern auroras are not seen as often as the northern ones,  because there isn’t as much populated land mass in the south. 

There’s the most southern part of mainland Australia, a place called Wilsons Promontory National Park. Dark skies and a clear view makes for an extraordinary sight. There are lodges in the park for staying overnight.

Tasmania, an island state of Australia, about 250 miles south of the mainland, is another viewpoint. At the south end of Tasmania, you’ll find a place called Cockle Creek. From what I’ve read, it’s a couple of hours away from the nearest town, but there’s camping, and it’s a national park, with very dark skies. Check for lodgings at Ida Bay, if you need more than camping.  Its latitude enables you to be able to see the Aurora Australis any time of the year.

New Zealand’s South Island is said to be another one of the best spots for viewing the southern lights.They have a place called Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve. Just going by the name alone, how could you go wrong? It sounds perfect!

The south tip of Argentina, there’s a city named Ushuaia. In their winter, their nights are about 17 hours long. That said, Ushuaia is still a city, so you would need to drive out of town to get proper viewing darkness, and they’re also known for clouds and unpredictable weather. 

Another place is South Georgia Island, about 400 miles from the east coast of South America, there’s a scientific outpost of sorts, half a million king penguins couples, and less than 100 people. 

Australia and New Zealand, are the definite go to places to see the southern lights, if it’s on your bucket list.