Or Where and When to Experience the Northern Lights in Iceland? Did you know aurora borealis had a twin sister? It’s called aurora australis.
The time of the year began when one of the most gorgeous natural and mysterious beauties only show themselves to those who are ready to wait in the darkness of the night. Ok, jokes aside.
Aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights.
The dreams of many.
Little Veronika could only imagine this magical dance of the world, while reading Mauri Kunnas’ picture book Santa Claus.
Never did she dare to even think, that she would one day experience it.
Ok, let’s put poems aside as well. And yes, I’ve experienced it. Well, experience it.
P. S. – You can find the best tip for watching the northern lights at the end of this article!
I first encountered the aurora on the Elding Northern Lights Cruise. It was 7 September. My friend from Denmark and I decided that day, that we were going to see the northern lights. It would be the first time for both of us. And so it happened. The boat left the port in Reykjavik and we “hid” from the light pollution behind two small nearby islands after a 40-minute cruise. There were big coveralls on the boat. It was really cold. I put on a pair of coveralls (see the photo) and I could barely move, but I still made myself comfortable. The engine ceased and they turned on the music.
We watched the sky from the sea for an hour. I moved away from the group and went to the prow, where I lay down (why should I strain my neck if I can lie and relax, all the while being warm in my pair of coveralls and a jacket). I enjoyed the boat that was rocking on the gentle waves, the nice music, the quiet and the view of the night sky, hoping the clouds would dissipate a bit, so I could see the northern sky. And even if I didn’t, I still made sure the whole experience was magical. But there it was, it peeked out just a little. The aurora showed itself to me shyly and winked at me from above the clouds. My heart was filled with a child’s playfulness and laughter. When I got back to the group and my friend, I suddenly started dancing, and the guide said: “That’s the spirit, even if there is not much lights going on.”
Since it was cloudier than they anticipated, we were given tickets for a free tour once we were finished and those tickets were valid for up to two years.
Once, when I was at a friend’s Holmur farm in the south (near Höfn) (the photo of the house). Kp 2, full moon, direction north, 30 minutes. And the second time it was when I moved to Borgarnes (Kp 2–3, direction north, 30 minutes outside). The lady finally stopped being shy on 10 November (Kp 2–4, two hours outside, direction north-west).
It was the day I remained speechless. I jumped so high in the air, I could almost touch it. My hands almost froze because I forgot to put on gloves due to all the excitement. The hearty laugh could be heard all around the hotel, as I wasn’t the only one. I spent two hours with two guys from Portugal and, even though we barely knew each other, we started hugging and jumping for joy, and we knew it would be a memory that would remain with us forever. The lights intensified by the minute and spread across the sky more and more. They started out in the north. And then they reached from the west to the east and encompassed the north as well.
The lights flew by me really fast in Reykjavik on 15 October when I, together with Hearts in the Ice and Global Choices, was finishing off the day at the Arctic Circle Conference in the evening.
On 10 October when the Kp index rose from 2 to 7. I looked at the forecast and, yes, strong solar storms were detected. There were even chances of seeing the lights in northern Germany that day. I was on my way from a trip, going to the Glymur waterfall. My intuition told me I shouldn’t go back the usual way, but rather turn towards the mountain pass. I was grateful for my intuition and the fact that I listened to it.
I was alone. In the middle of the mountains in Iceland. There was no one around. The last place was a 25-minute drive in the direction I came from, and the next one was 20 minutes ahead. The best thing of all was there wasn’t even a shred of light pollution. I stopped the car. I got outside. I opened my mouth and just stared at the sky. The stars. The Milky Way and the northern lights just starting to reveal themselves in the north. After an hour of the meditation that was the starry sky, I drove off. I stopped closer to civilisation and the aurora was gaining strength. I stopped again (8:30 p.m., the photo “along the way”). “Aha! There’s gonna be a party in the sky tonight!” And I wasn’t wrong. I drove to Borgarnes. I put on the warmest clothes and I knew I would spend half of the night outside.
The party stared around 9 p.m. and, as befits a true aurora, it really started off from 10 p.m. onwards. My sighs, exhalations, my “wows, ohhhs, ooohs”, my loud laughter, my exhilaration and screams of joy were the music. And the one dancing was the aurora. It danced across the entire sky! Just look at the photos and you’ll get it!
Aurora is listed as one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Science says aurora borealis is the result of geomagnetic storms caused by solar winds that occur as a light display when charged particles, which travel from the Sun, react to the atoms in Earth’s atmosphere. Sprinkled with some chemistry and science (don’t skip that part, it’s not that scary).
The temperature of the solar wind is basically the same temperature as the Sun, so it travels really fast. Earth’s atmosphere, which protects the planet, (primarily) consists of oxygen (21%) and nitrogen (78%). The atoms of these gases absorb the solar heat when reacting to the solar wind particles. These atoms start moving (enter into a higher energy level) due to the influx of energy. But they always have a tendency to return to the stable or normal state. When doing that, they release the excess energy in the form of visible photons (light particles).
It’s just like us, when we experience stress, which is a reaction to an external situation. Let’s say we got scared of a loud bang. The result is the stress we feel. We quickly want to return back to the state of calmness, so we often do something, like talk to someone, to get rid of that excess energy, therefore calming down.
We can see these photons and we call them the northern lights.
The northern lights can be seen if you live close to the Arctic Circle, meaning in the northern hemisphere. They can be seen in Iceland, which is where I first saw them. But they’re also visible in Alaska, Greenland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Canada.
In order to see the lights, though, you need to “run away” from light pollution, as well as from particle and smog pollution! P. S. – Let this also be a reminder for you to adopt the practice of doing your best to reduce (any kind of) pollution in your everyday life. And then look at what magic this will bring you over time.
Have you ever heard of aurora borealis’ twin sister, the aurora australis?
The only difference between the two phenomena is that aurora australis can only be seen in the Antarctic Circle, that is in the South Pole and is therefore known as the southern lights. They’re visible in Antarctica, New Zealand, Australia, in the southern parts of South America and in South Africa.
The Kp index is a scale ranging from 0 to 9. It describes the disturbance in the Earth’s magnetic field, which is the result of the solar wind. 0 means low activity and 9 means high activity and therefore a possibility of seeing the northern lights. The index is used to determine the probability of spotting the northern lights (depending on the location). When you find yourself in a geographic location where there’s a chance of seeing the aurora, check the local meteorological websites. In Iceland, it’s vedur.is. You can download the My Aurora app on your phone, so you can read the map and look at the cloud cover, comparing it to the Kp index and catching the aurora!
So, in order to catch the aurora, you must not only observe the Kp index, but also pay attention to the cloud cover. And with all that you can prepare in advance. The weather changes fast in Iceland. I’m serious. It may snow now, but the sky’ll be clear in the next two minutes. So you really need to prepare in advance. The lights, though, are also visible in Reykjavik, when the Kp index is 3 or above. The further away you go from the populated areas, moving towards the countryside, the easier it will be to catch a glimpse of the aurora. All my photos were taken in Borgarnes (an hour’s drive west from Reykjavik).
The aurora that’s visible with the naked eye is usually grey and (vivid) green. It can also appear in shades of pink, blue, purple and red. The colour spectrum depends on the type and altitude of the gases in the atmosphere.
Often, the northern lights aren’t visible to the naked eyes (when the Kp index is low) and you can only see it if you take a photo. Wow, what? Yes. Human’s eyes don’t have strong enough receptors to be always able to see this phenomenon.
In my experience, the lights always started out as grey, a somewhat hazy green colour. I usually checked whether it was actually there (and it wasn’t just me mistaking the clouds for the northern lights) by taking a photo.
But when the Kp index was at least 2 or 3, the dance of the light was visible to the naked eye (now you probably already know why I wrote down the hour in brackets, as well as how long I observed the lights and the Kp value).
On 11 October, the day of the light party, though, there wasn’t any doubt the aurora wouldn’t be visible in the sky, judging merely by the intensity visible in the photo! It’s really quite fascinating in person, though. The lights go from soft grey light to soft green and then the green begins to intensify, becoming more vivid. They start out blurry, and the shapes then become sharper. They change by the minute.
Well, you can, if you’ve got a good enough phone camera that has manual settings:
And you definitely need a stand. Mine was more of an experimental one, sometimes a mug on an info board, sometimes wooden stakes I found nearby.
Take the photo using your eyes and your heart! While looking at the sky, put your hand on your heart, feel your heartbeat and take a deep breath. Be mindful of that very moment. Give in to the magic, be there and be present! Take a photo of the feelings that surround you when the aurora dances above you. The photo that will accompany you everywhere, always. It’s a precious memoy you’ll return to over and over again!
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