Northern lights in Norway
One of the most mysterious natural phenomena, the aurora often brightens the sky over the poles and the countries that are closest to them. The most grandiose is considered to be the northern lights in Norway, although the Aurora Bolearis often carries its sparkling tail over the Russian polar expanses.
sunny wind
Scientists have long since given a scientific explanation for the aurora. It represents charged particles of the solar wind that have penetrated into the earth's magnetic field. Interacting with the upper layers of the atmosphere, they excite atoms and molecules, whose radiation shines like the glittering swords of the Valkyries. This is how the brave Vikings explained the nature of the northern lights in Norway and other Scandinavian countries.
Weather forecast
The Norwegian tourism industry offers a special setting for sky-gazing enthusiasts. You can book a snow room at an igloo hotel or book a room at hotels with glass roofs. There are three directions in Norway where the spectacle happens to be especially full-scale and colorful:
- On the Svalbard archipelago. It is only an hour and a half by plane from here to the North Pole, and this particular corner of Norway is chosen by travelers who want to conquer the northernmost point of the planet.
- The city of Tromsø, through which most of the tourist routes in the country run. In addition to the aurora borealis in winter in Tromsø, you can see the midnight sun in June.
- North Cape in the north of the country is the extreme point of Norway.
It is impossible to predict when the northern lights in Norway will be especially colorful and whether it will happen at all. Meteorologists recommend to go hunting for an amazing natural phenomenon from mid-autumn to the last days of winter. The most likely to see colorful flashes in the sky occurs late in the evening, but after midnight the Valkyries retire.
Let's check the indicators
For those seriously interested in astronomy, predicting the best time to observe the aurora will not be difficult. Usually, its appearance is preceded by a powerful ejection of particles on the Sun, accompanied by an increase in magnetic activity.
Space weather data regularly appear on the website of the Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere and Radio Wave Propagation of the Russian Academy of Sciences - www.izmiran.ru. Having seen that the K-index values have exceeded 4-5 points, travelers can safely buy a ticket to Norway: in a couple of days the chance to see the shining swords of the Valkyries will be maximum.
