A stay in the countryside or a guided tour into the wilderness will greatly improve your view to the sky. Get out of town: It goes without saying that you need dark nights, but it's also ideal to get away from the glare of city lights. We recommend checking this aurora forecast for Norway page. Timing is everything: While this phenomenon happens all year long, they are visible mostly between October and March (winter) each year in the Nordic region.Ĭheck the forecast: Location means nothing if you don't have the right combo of solar activity and cloudless skies. If you’re planning to add a northern lights outing to your trip in northern Norway (or are coming to Norway for this sole purpose!), we’ve put together a few helpful notes for you: Northern lights are a natural phenomenon so sightings can never be guaranteed! HELPFUL ADVICE FOR SEEING THE NORTHERN LIGHTSĪs we’ve mentioned before, it’s best to keep in mind that seeing the northern lights does require the right timing, location and meteorological conditions as well as a good dose of patience and luck. The Lofoten Islands, a stunning, mountainous Norwegian archipelago, is also excellent for sightings.Īnd keep in mind that although you can sometimes get a great aurora show in town, it pays to get away from the light pollution of a city to really see the northern lights in all their glory. In northern Norway, the city of Tromsø falls right in the middle of the “Northern Lights Belt”.

The closer you are to it, the better your odds are!

In fact, there is a zone in the Northern Hemisphere called the “Northern Lights Belt”, situated from 65 to 72 degrees north, which is known to have more auroral frequency and intensity.

Where is the best place to view auroras in Norway?Īs all the molecular magic (oops, we mean science) is happening near Earth's magnetic poles, the Arctic region is ideal for viewing the aurora borealis. Peak time for seeing the northern lights is between 11pm and 2am, and the seasonal darkness will make it easier to witness them. Ideally, we recommend planning your trip to northern Norway between October and March, during which daylight hours are pretty limited in areas north of the Arctic Circle While this phenomenon may happen at any time of the year, they're most likely to occur during wintertime in Scandinavia. The lights may appear like a rippling curtain, streaming rays or an arc, among other forms. The most common colour of northern lights is green, though you may see hues of red and violet. But that makes it even more magical! Like shape-shifting apparitions dancing across the stars, this is an experience you’ll never forget. As you can see, so much needs to align in order for visitors to witness the lights. When these particles collide with atoms in our atmosphere, it results in glowing emissions that take on various shapes, movements, colours and brightness depending on the type of atoms involved, the intensity of the solar activity and the pull of Earth’s magnetic forces.Īnd not only this, but the sky needs to be dark, clear, and with as little city lights as possible. The northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, are in fact caused by solar storms or giant flares from the sun sending blasts of charged particles hurtling towards Earth.

Northern lights in norway