AURORA BOREALIS

'Aurora borealis', the lights of the northern hemisphere, means 'dawn of the north'. The bright dancing lights of the aurora are collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth's atmosphere. The lights are seen above the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres. They are known as 'Aurora borealis' in the north and 'Aurora australis' in the south. The lights appear in many forms from patches or scattered clouds of light to streamers, arcs, rippling curtains or shooting rays that light up the sky with a magical glow.

 

Because the phenomena occur near the magnetic poles, the best places to see Northern lights are Northern Norway, Swedish Lapland, Iceland and Northern Finland. Winter in the north is generally a good season to view lights. The long periods of darkness and the frequency of clear nights provide many good opportunities to watch the auroral displays.