Me and Robert (My husband, in case you have not read the about section yet and have no idea who he is) are basically addicted to the Northern Lights and wish that they could be the Western Lights (since we live in Colorado). We saw them for our first time in January of 2016 and now we try to go and find them every year. Iceland was our second chance to see them and by far the most spectacular show we have ever seen! We went to Iceland in March... and if you get lucky enough to go during Northern Lights season you should def chase them!
The Northern Lights season in Iceland last for about eight months; from September to April. The longer your trip the more likely you are to see them. Of course, do not go just to see the lights as you could be sourly disappointed when the elusive aurora decides not to come out and dance. In Reality there is so much to do in Iceland there is no real way that you could just be going there for the Northern Lights. On our seven night trip to Iceland, we got lucky enough to see them just once! But that one night was so incredible! We saw them in Fairbanks, Alaska the year before - but, this display blew us away! Seeing the Northern Lights in person is an experience that you have to experience to understand what I mean. If magic isn't real than the Northern Lights are the closest thing to it that I have ever experienced! It is so hard to describe because it is a surreal experience.
PICTURES DO THEM JUSTICE:
Now, there is something that not everyone tells you and you may not realize that pictures can do some displays serious justice. This is because the cameras sensor picks up the color way better than our eyes do. No one told me this before we went to Alaska and I was a little bit disappointed at first - until I realized "we are seeing the Northern Lights, I should stop being so bratty and appreciate this experience that a lot of people do not get to have". But...if someone had told me that the lower the Kp (you might be like wtf is that? well you can scroll down now or read later - I will explain it) the less of a show you get. For a lower KP you may only see a grey moving curtain like object in the sky - if you are not careful it could just be mistaken for a cloud. However, our cameras will pick up that green color that looks amazing - and it is! Read my blog post about how to photograph the northern lights.
The bottom line is be prepared that not every aurora looks like it does in the pictures. The Aurora that we saw in Iceland looked like the photos - we could see the greens and purples with our eyes. This is part of what made it so spectacular. Not only that, but it was everywhere; Behind us, in front of us, above us, everywhere!. So saying that they are not always the way they look in pictures is not true - because they can be, and the display that we got lucky enough to see in Iceland - they were!
If you want some tips and tricks on how to photograph them check out my other blog post about just that!
WHAT ARE THE NORTHERN LIGHTS?:
it is a natural light show caused by collisons between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth's atmosphere and collide with gases such as oxygen and nitrogen. That is the boring way of saying it is a kickass light show like you have never seen before. It comes in all shapes and sizes; sometimes it is green (that is its usual and most common color), However it can have reds (the rarest), purples (we saw this in Iceland) and sometimes even blue. Auroras can be calm, active or pulsating - the most common being the calm type.
Calm Aurora:
This aurora does not move much and may just look like a dim arc with no real structure.
Pulsating Aurora:
Blinks on and off at regular intervals. It usually only lasts a few seconds and generally happens towards the end of the dispaly.
Active Aurora:
These move constantly and change shape. They can look like a curtain moving in the wind. This is the most spectacular kind of aurora - but all of them are fantastic because you are seeing the aurora and that is just awesome in and of itself.
Basically, the entire science of the Aurora is super complicated and I could write a blog post on just that, but you are here for another reason, because you want to learn how to find it, Trust me, the information that I just shared will help you on your quest. One more thing to note, the Aurora happens in the upper atmosphere -meaning if there are clouds you will not see it even if it is active because the clouds will cover up the show.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR:
1. Clear Skies - The Icelandic are extremely helpful, they have a website you can find here that shows you cloud coverage as well as the predicted forecast. The most important part is finding clear skies. You will not be able to see the Aurora if their are clouds as it occurs above them.
2. Get away from city lights. Sometimes if it is a strong enough aurora you can see it in the city, but it is better to get away from the lights so that it does not get drowned out by them. Luckily, Iceland does not have very many cities and you can easily get away from them.
3. Appropriate clothing: Check the weather and dress appropriately. Wear thermals, snow clothes, gloves, hats, etc. This will allow you to stay out longer and enjoy yourself without getting too cold. It will also enable you to stay out longer - which is important if you are photographing the aurora.
4. The KP Index; it is a scale from 0-9. with 0 being the least likely there will be a display and 9 meaning you will be able to see them in Colorado. That is pretty rare. Anything with a 3 and over is worth going out and searching. I mean, a 2 might even be worth it - especially if you are doing photography,
5. The BZ is the next most important thing. A KP forecast of 7 does not mean that you will even get to see the aurora even if there are no clouds. There is this pesky little thing called the BZ. The BZ has to be negative in order for lady aurora to show her face. Someone once explained it to me as a light switch (if you are looking at a graph) if it is up above the y axis - no aurora - if it is switched down below the y axis that means it should come on.
What happened to us in Alaska is it kept switching on and off, on and off, on and off. whereas in Iceland it switched on at 9am and I don't know if it ever switched off - the only reason we stopped watching it around two in the morning was because the clouds covered up our show for the night.
6. Patience. That is the next thing you need to look for when searching for the aurora. You can get lucky and it will find you, or you could be searching for hours to no avail. But that is okay, just go out the next night.
7. Wind speed is also kind of important. It determines whether it will be a calm or an active aurora. The higher the wind speed the more likely it will be active. It really is not something that I pay attention to.
HELPFUL APPS:
I have an iphone and use a few apps:
Aurora Forecast:
It is the most basic and shows you an image along with all the other science stuff that you need like the Kp index, BZ, etc.
Aurora Now:
Will send you alerts, has graphics and shows you the aurora probability you have at that moment (based on where you are) as well as the BZ and the Kp.
My Aurora Forecast:
Has an Aurora map that shows you the best places "right now" as well as the graphics and forecasts.
I like to use all three of these in conjunction, along with the website specifically for Iceland, since it has the cloud cover information on it.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING:
Enjoy your time and if you are taking photos take a moment to watch the aurora with your own eyes and just take it in. One of the best ways to see the aurora is lying on your back and starring at the sky. Enjoy! If you want to get some tips and tricks on photographing them click here.
Comments