Lofoten
Heavenly beautiful
Midwinter, clear and cold. Dancing curtains of light that suddenly freeze in place and then once again sweep the stars into new formations. Red, green and blue. The northern lights captivate and the colours depend on how many thousands of metres above our heads they are shining. If you’re dressed warmly and in the right spot, you can stand and admire aurora borealis for hours.
To this day, we aren’t sure what makes the northern lights shine, but the phenomenon occurs when energy particles from the sun are shot into the atmosphere. The fact is that the northern lights dance over our heads year-round, even though we only see it with the naked eye in the winter. We also know that the planets Jupiter and Saturn have aurora borealis, that aurora borealis occurs in other galaxies and that it is more active near the Earth’s magnetic poles.
Polarlightcenter in Laukvik on the island of Austvågøy (Lofoten) has special instruments to measure northern light activity and provides information in real time. You stay with the enthusiastic research couple, who lecture on the northern lights and send you an SMS alert to let you know the best time to see it during the rest of your stay in the north.
No 7 NORTHERN LIGHTS VIEWING / LOFOTEN
GOOD TO KNOW
- Activity: Northern lights viewing
- Location: Lofoten
- Season: September-April
- Degree of difficulty: Everyone is welcome.
- Other facts: Solar activity varies in cycles of about 11 years. The sun is expected to enter an active period around 2012. We will then experience the northern lights to an even greater extent. During the sun’s more active periods, you can also see the auras farther south – sometimes even in Southern Europe.
Pocket-sized guide
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