Image above: Northern lights in Harstad, Norway. Photo by: Visit Norway.
Above the Arctic circle
Did you know?
- The northern lights are caused by electrons and protons from the sun colliding with gas particles in the earth's atmosphere.
- The northern lights are formed in the polar regions because the particles are drawn to the poles by the earth's magnetic field.
- The best time to see the northern lights is on a cloudless night between October and March.
- The most common color of the northern lights is light green.
- The northern lights usually occur at an altitude of about 100 km.
- The sun stays up from April to late August in the Arctic Island of Svalbard and in the Swedish and Finnish Lapland you can experience sunlight between May to July.
- You can find activities that are open at night during these endless days, such as midnight golfing and sea kayaking, or maybe just find a nice spot to sit and enjoy the scenery.
- Polar nights is the opposite to the midnight sun, or a "polar day". 21 of June is the longest and brightest day of the year - the "summer solstice".
