I have spent a lot of time travelling throughout Iceland and Scandinavia but it’s always during summertime – so I have never seen the Northern Lights! Known as the Aurora Borealis in northern latitudes, it is a natural light display in the sky caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere. They occur most frequently in a belt of radius 2500 km centered on the magnetic north pole. This so-called auroral zone extends over northern Scandinavia, Iceland, the southern tip of Greenland and continuing over northern Canada, Alaska and along the northern coast of Siberia. Whilst I have always associated the Northern Lights with wintertime, they are actually present all year round – it’s just that we can’t see them during the light nights of summer.
One day I will get to experience this amazing phenomenon and cross it off my travel bucket list!
3 Comments
Oh me too! My friend recently went at the end of last year and was so amazed by it. The Northern Lights are definitely something everyone should see once in their lifetime. I hope we both get to see them soon :)
Ohh me too Phuoc! One day! :)
I have the chance to visit Iceland last Feb of 2014. Luckily, I was able to witness and photograph the ever famous aurora borealis. It was really a perfect time with clear night sky and I was able to capture a lot of images of it. I would love to share them with you: http://www.darkeclipse.com/nightscape/northern-lights/the-shield-and-the-sword/
Thanks!”