Northern Lights Questions

There's almost no chance you'll see the lights in July. Not enough hours of darkness.

Whether or not you can see an aurora depends on several factors. 1. The presence of a solar storm. 2. Darkness at the time the storm hits the earth's atmosphere. 3. Low humidity with few to no clouds. 4. Minimal ambient light pollution. 5. Being in a position with relatively unobstructed views of the sky and horizons. So, the take-home message: to see the northern lights, you need to place yourself in the right place at the right time, and this is impossible to predict far in advanced. To put things in perspective, I once spent a month in central Alaska during the winter. Even there, with ideal conditions (long nights, almost no light pollution, very low humidity), I only saw the lights twice, and I tried on multiple nights.

"will its appearence stay "longer" or/and "larger" and "better" " Mostly, that depends on the intensity of the solar storm, which has no correlation to the time of year. But the longer the night, the higher the chance that an intense storm will coincide with suitable viewing conditions.

One of my relatives has tried numerous times to view the phenomena. She has gone to Lapland and Iceland, and she has flown on a special spotter aircraft which makes large circles.

She has never been successful.

And these have all been in the dead of winter, under what appeared to be favourable conditions. The sun never cooperated.

Fairbanks, Alaska is a good place to see the aurora, as the winter skies are so often clear. We enjoyed many such displays when we lived there. We kept a hammock set up outside for that purpose, until a moose appropriated that spot for her sleeping area.

But if you prefer Norway, the Alaska Geophysical Institute's "Traveler's Guide' to Aurora viewing recommends taking the coastal ferry (Hurtigruten) northward in March.

http://www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast/TravelersGuide

Tom, nailed it pretty well. The Northern lights are not a nightly occurrence and only predictable when a major solar storm has occurred. Second at that time of year, that far north is really doesn't get dark, dark at night. It is called the midnight sun for a reason. Closer to the light just after a sunset. So even if the lights were showing they would be dim, dull, and not the bright colors that you get in the dead of winter. This event is best save for another time. Sorry to discourage you but there is a reason you could not find the answer you wanted.

I believe the OP knows he will not be able to see the aurora in July and is asking about the best time for a return trip to Norway--- midwinter, late winter, or autumn. It is actually not necessary to go in winter--- what you need is complete darkness, and that starts occurring in late August. The last time I was in Alaska, people in our group saw nice auroras on two consecutive nights, August 21 and 22, around 2 or 3 am. This was in Denali national park at latitude 63 degrees, about the same as Trondheim Norway.

In addition to a dark night you need to be away from light pollution, so cities are not a good place to be looking for the aurora. You also need a cloudless night,,which is more common in the Alaska interior than the coast of Norway.

Finally, as Tom mentioned above, you need the right atmospheric conditions ( solar wind). So even if you are in the perfect place for viewing, it may not happen. You cannot plan ahead for it; you have to be lucky.

I've seen northern lights more times than I can count - occasionally from the ground but more often when flying a plane at night.

It stands to reason you will only see them at night. When you are far north in July - there isn't much night. I never thought about what season they occur in the most, but recall seeing them while walking my dog, in Spokane, in late October.

I've also seen them when camping in Canada in the middle of the night when I got up to use the toilet. That was in mid-August. Those were the most awesome I've witnessed.

We're visiting Iceland in early April and hope the conditions for seeing Aurora Borealis will be favorable.

So, Brad -- are you suggesting that bathroom visits should be carefully planned? ;-)

About 20 years ago I witnessed a display of the northern lights in Montana; it was summer and dark out. The display lasted one or two minutes. Wow!!

While this article is about Scotland, I suspect that the timing applies to Scandinavia.

Pam