The northern lights can be very intense en route from N-America to Iceland, especially when flying close to the magnetic pole. Some people actually catch their first glimpse of the Aurora Borealis on their way to Iceland – from the window of an airplane. According to the Science Web, these destinations are ideal for gazing at the northern lights: Light pollution can affect the visibility as well so if you’re staying in Reykjavik, I advise you to drive a few miles from the city lights. You also have to make sure that the so-called aurora oval is over Iceland, you should follow the aurora forecast to see what the chance of seeing the northern lights are. If it isn’t, you might want to a place where the weather forecast is better. What are the conditions/the best time of the day to see the northern lights?Īccording to the Science Web of the University of Iceland, the ideal timeframe to spot the northern lights is from 21 pm to 2 am.īefore you go out northern-lights hunting, make sure that the sky is clear. Northern Lights are also a common sight in the city, although light pollution can decrease their intensity. Photo: Snorri Þór Tryggvason. They’ll appear every now and then until mid-April.Ī starry night in Iceland. Aurorae can start to appear in late August, like they did last weekend.
In Iceland, there’s little amount of darkness from May to August. As soon as it gets dark again, you can expect to see some spectacular northern lights. Midnight sun during the summer is another well known characteristic of these northern areas, which means that visibility of northern lights during the summer is close to zero. Photo: Snorri Þór Tryggvason.Īre the northern lights visible throughout the year?Īs I already mentioned, the northern lights are visible at high northern latitudes. Stunning Northern Lights over Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon. The southern lights are visible from high southern latitudes in Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, Australia and Antarctica. The areas that are found on this auroral belt are Iceland, the northern regions of Scandinavia, the southern part of Greenland, Canada, Alaska and the northern part of Siberia. The so-called auroral zone is in correlation with the geomagnetic poles, not the geographic poles. The northern lights are a frequent sight in arctic/subarctic areas while the southern lights (Aurora Australis) appear in antarctic/subantarctic areas. When the northern lights are intense, it seems like they’re pretty close to Earth, but actually they are not.Ī photo of the Aurora Australis, taken from space (by the ISS Expedition). In comparison, airplanes usually fly around 10 km above sea level. The northern lights appear between 90 and 640 km above sea level, which is a lot higher than many people imagine. Sometimes the colour-palette is more interesting, with purple, pink or even red tones. The solar activity affects the strength of the northern lights. Most northern lights are green in colour, due to collision with oxygen. The different colors of the lights are in accordance with the different gases that are found up there. aurora borealis) appear when electrically charged particles, emanating from the sun, travel at a high speed towards Earth, resulting in a collision with the highest air particles. There does exist an app called Northern Lights Alerts that allows you to notify others about sightings of northern lights and you can see other people's notifications too, so you can easily stay tuned.
BEST TIME TO SEE NORTHERN LIGHTS IN ICELAND HOW TO
The Icelandic met office released this fantastic tool a couple of years ago and here's a great video on how to use it: If you are determined to see the northern lights while you’re visiting Iceland, you should check out the northern lights forecast and head to the place where there is clear skies. Sometimes there isn't much activity and other times the visibility is reduced due to clouds or fog. Seeing the northern lights can’t be scheduled beforehand. The northern lights attract thousands of travelers to Iceland each year but unfortunately some of these people return to their homes without any luck. Despite that, I’m impressed every time I see them. I have lived in Iceland for the major part of my life and therefore I’ve seen the northern lights countless times.
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