Spectacular northern lights display of the
Aurora Borealis over Northern Iceland.
Imagine
the night sky filled with sheets of dancing light in startling
greens, purples, reds, yellows and blues.
The colors
swirls together or one dominates and fills the air with an unearthly
glow. It may be difficult to visualize stars twinkling through
a haze of green, but that is what you'll see if you are lucky
enough to catch the show when the Aurora Borealis puts on a display.
Iceland is one of the best places on earth to catch the Northern Lights.
How to see the northern lights
In late autumn and late winter to very early spring (mid-March at the latest) the conditions are the best for spectacular displays.
In major tourist centers like Reykjavik, it is possible to catch sight of the northern lights, but tour operators will usually head north for the surrounding countryside. This is to get away from city lights and therefore increase the odds of showing you a more intense, vivid show.
Since northern lights viewing is sometimes curtailed by a full moon, check the moon phases that are predicted to occur around the time you plan to go before you book a tour.
Also be sure to book at least several months in advance.
These nighttime outings remain hugely popular -- even without a guarantee from tour companies that the northern lights will appear at all!
While winter and early spring remain the best time to see the northern lights, sightings in Iceland have been reported as late as mid-August. So when in Iceland, be sure to look up at the night sky whenever and wherever you happen to be. You may get lucky.
Tours from Reykjavik whisk visitors away to an unforgettable view of the Northern Lights.
What causes the northern lights
What ancient wanderers imagined were omens of doom (or the gods battling in the heavens) has a modern scientific explanation.
The northern lights are actually the result of interaction between the earth's electromagnetic field and violent solar winds emitted from the sun. Storms on the sun's surface provide the most spectacular displays, and the most active storms can produce lights as far south as Italy in Europe and Virginia in the USA.
Suffice to say that it doesn't really matter how much you understand the science behind this phenomenon,
It will still take your breath away....
More about the northern lights around the Web:
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The Aurora Page - From the folks at Michigan Tech - a few photos of the Aurora Borealis and helpful resources to sites that can help you forecast where the Northern Lights will be dancing. The forecasting sites may a bit technical for your taste, but they are fun to check out.
