Aurora Borealis
All You Need To Know
The Northern Lights, scientifically known as the Aurora Borealis, are a natural phenomenon mostly seen in high-latitude regions near the Arctic Circle.
This amazing natural phenomenon are created by an interaction of the Solar Wind with the Magnetosphere: charged electrons and protons from the Sun collide with the atoms in Earth's atmosphere which makes them glow in different colors.
As these particles interact with gases such as oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere, they emit light of various colors, creating the mesmerizing auroral glow. The colors depend on the type of gas and altitude of the collision.
When the protons collide together with Oxygen, it typically produces green and red hues, while Nitrogen contributes to blue and purple shades.
The intensity and visibility of the Northern Lights depend on the solar activity, which will give a stronger or a weaker visibility of the phenomenon.
When is the Best Time to see it?
The best time to see the Northern Lights in Lapland are definetly the months: September, October, March and early April.
During both Equinoxes days are geomagnetically more active because of the alignment of the Earth's magnetic field with the solar wind.
Those months are also likely to be less cloudy and the chances to have a clear night are much higher compared to, for example, December when, most of the nights, it will be snowing. An other thing to consider during theese months is that the weather is not as extremely cold as in the main winter months.
The Aurora season starts from mid August and lasts until the middle of April.
The norther you go the shorter the season will last due to the so called bright nights when the midnight sun season is about to come.
As Natural Phenomenon, Northern Lights are hard to predict, but there are several apps, websites and tools which can be used to see the auroral ativity and weather predictions.
You need 3 main factors:
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Darkness
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Clear Sky
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Good Solar Activity
This means that we have to drive out of the city.
Sometimes Rovaniemi could be fully cloudy and during the hunt we might need to drive up to 250km one way in order to find clear skies and we might end up in Northern Finland or Sweden.
How do we do it?
Our hunt starts from Meltosjärvi (other locations upon request), we will pick you up from your accomodation and we will drive away from the town and the light pollution.
The departure time for our Aurora Hunt varies according to the distance that we will drive in order to find clear sky and the values of the solar activity, also, the starting time for the Northern Lights Hunt varies depending on the season.
On our Northern Light Hunts we are focusing on 100% hunting, which means that it might be a long time driving, so snacks and hot drinks will be provided.
In case of bad weather condition or solar activity we will cancel the tour and give you back the entire amount not to waste your time and money.
Feel free to contact us and let us know the dates of your stay in Lapland and we will organise your hunt according to the day with the best chances.