Occasionally, multicoloured light curtains or shafts may appear in the night sky. These are known as the northern lights. They are one of the numerous astronomical phenomena known as polar lights (aurora Polaris).
A breathtaking natural occurrence, polar lights (aurora Polaris) may be seen in both the northern and southern hemispheres. The scientific term for the glow of the north is aurora borealis, while the name for the south of lights is aurora australis.
Where Are The Northern Lights Visible?
The polar areas are where the Aurora Borealis are most frequently observed within a 2,500 km circle surrounding the magnetic poles. The Auroral Zone or Auroral Oval is this region.
The likelihood of seeing the aurora increases as you go further north in search of the Northern Lights. The ideal area to go aurora hunting is above the Arctic Circle (66°33’N), which explains why northern Norway and Svalbard are among the best places to observe the Northern Lights.
When Can You Observe Them?
Although the Northern Lights are theoretically visible for a large portion of the year, there aren’t enough hours of darkness during the summer, even beyond the Arctic Circle, to view them. The Arctic winter season lasts from late September through late March or early April. The Arctic sky is sufficiently dark around this time for the Northern Lights to be visible under certain circumstances.
The equinoxes in March and September are when the aurora is most active. Most frequently, the Northern Lights show between 17:00 and 2:00. They often only provide a temporary exhibition before gliding away and returning. If you’re lucky, a good show could continue for a few hours or more, but it usually only lasts for around 15 to 30 minutes at a time.
What Causes The Northern Lights To Appear?
Electrically charged particles from space enter the Earth’s upper atmosphere at a breakneck speed, which is what causes the light display we see from the ground.
How Can You Determine Whether The Northern Lights Will Show?
There is no 100 per cent assurance that you will see the Northern Lights. Hurtigruten is confident enough to provide its exclusive Northern Lights Promise because being in the right spot at the appropriate time, such as in northern Norway in winter, helps. However, projections are accessible. On a scale of one to nine, with one denoting deficient activity and nine indicating very high movement, the forecast corresponds to the planetary magnetic index.
Are The Northern Lights Audible?
People living in areas where the Northern Lights are visible, notably in Inuit settlements, have reported hearing the aurora make noises. It doesn’t make sense scientifically since sound moves at a different speed than light. Anything generating a sound would need to be moving at the speed of light since the aurora happens 100 km up in the sky; otherwise, it would be so far away that you wouldn’t be able to make the connection.
What generates the hues that individuals perceive? Do these hues alter?
Despite being varied, the aurora’s colors do not cover the entire spectrum. Bright green is the most common color, resembling an unripe banana or spearmint gum; red, purple, and blue are less common manifestations.
We only perceive a small range of hues due to interactions between solar particles and the make-up of the earth’s atmosphere. The reaction and consequent color are determined by the amount of oxygen and nitrogen present at various atmospheric levels.
What shapes or forms make up the aurora borealis?
The topography of the aurora has been thoroughly documented by experts, who have divided it into layers, ribbons, coronas, and streaks. For the majority of observers, however, identifiable forms are obscured; the lights merely meld into a riot of color and darkness.
For me, curtains serve as the best analogy because they frequently take the form of rippling, folding, vertical sheets that fade away at their tops but come to a sharp point at the bottom.
This edge forms because the aurora-causing chemical reactions stop at a certain low level in the atmosphere when oxygen levels change substantially. As a result, we witness what looks to be a fluttering sheet in the solar wind.
Does it seem to change from one night to the next?
Astronomers can tentatively trace the bigger solar weather cycles, but the nightly patterns and likelihood of aurora occurrence are quite uncertain. You just have to be prepared for when they do. The lights can be out for a few hours or a few days.
Do more auroras exist in our solar system?
A marble-like world covered in light can be seen in some of the most perplexing aurora documentation collected from orbit. However, auroras are not just found on earth. Even though the mixtures of particles and magnetic fields that give these glow their distinctive appearance vary, almost every planet in our solar system exhibits some form of spectral glow.
Is the aurora borealis accompanied by any sounds?
Although I have never heard them, the eerie crackles and murmurs of the aurora have been recorded for many centuries. According to recent study, these sounds are actually electromagnetic energy discharging when solar winds ripple into the lower levels of the atmosphere, not auditory illusions or the hallucinations of undernourished explorers as was previously believed.
How was this phenomenon explained in ancient cultures?
There has long been a relationship between the aurora borealis and mythology or human civilization. The size of these light displays lends itself to the paranormal and unsettles daily scale and reasoning.
Are there any steps that tourists can take to get ready to see the aurora borealis?
You should first lower your expectations before trying to see the aurora borealis since no amount of local expertise, money, or passion will make the lights emerge. To that end, make sure your cabin speakers are on and loud when you go to bed if viewing the aurora borealis is a top objective for your adventure.
The fact that so many people remain awake during arctic nights caring for the ship and keeping an eye on the horizon is a huge benefit. If the lights go out at night, the expedition leader will be informed by the bridge team and will get out of bed to issue a shipwide message.
