5 Northern Lights Facts You Want to Know

1. Northern Lights happen all year round BUT you need the darkness to see them, this is why they are only visible during the darker months of the year. In Reykjavik we start seeing some Northern Lights as early as late August and our season ends in April. So roughly 8 months of Auroras !

2. Statistically, there is more solar activity around the equinox, so September and March are good for aurora activity. There is no better month really but if the solar activity is high it statistically increases your chances of seeing Northern Lights. On the other hand the long dark days of winter also make it more likely to see Northern Lights as you have more hours of darkness. The lesson here is that nobody knows and as long as it is dark and clear there is a chance of seeing Northern Lights.

3. It is a common assumption to think that a night needs to be cold in order to have a chance of seeing Northern Lights. This is not true! It doesn’t need to be cold to see the aurora, just clear skies and darkness are needed. But often clear skies mean colder temperatures hence the association.

4. There is a peak in solar activity every 11 years. Scientists have been observing this for centuries and the change in the sun’s activity includes changes in the level of radiation as well as changes in solar material ejection. The changes also affect the number of sunspots which also affects the probability of seeing Northern Lights. The last peak was 2013 and the next cycle will peak in 2024. We always have a chance to see Northern Lights as long as the sky is clear but the likeliness becomes even greater when we have a peak in solar activity.

5. The colors that show in the sky are the result of plasma colliding with particles in our atmosphere. In other words, electrically charged particles (plasma) travel from the sun’s surface towards us and when they collide with particles in our atmosphere we see Northern Lights ! The colors vary depending on the altitude at which the particles collide and also with what specific particles the plasma collides.