Mysterious stripes in the sky in green, red, yellow or purple – northern lights have always fascinated. These days they are no longer so mysterious, but unfortunately they cannot be admired everywhere in the world. We’ll tell you here where you can admire this fascinating spectacle in the sky.
Aurora Borealis, Northern Lights, Southern Lights – what is what?
Aurora Borealis is just an umbrella term for the northern and southern lights. The latter occur in the southern hemisphere, they are also called aurora australis, and the northern lights, according to their name, in northern latitudes, also called aurora borealis.
This is how northern lights are created
Why do we even see the northern lights? The explanation is less romantic than we might imagine: Roughly summarized, electrically charged particles from the sun (so-called solar winds) meet nitrogen and oxygen particles from the Earth’s atmosphere. Through a brief ionization, energy is released in the form of light and an aurora is created. This happens when the Earth’s magnetic field cannot block the solar winds – and this is especially the case in the polar regions.
Where can you see the northern lights?
The Southern lights can be seen between March and October e.g. B. seen in South Georgia, Antarctica, the Stewart Islands, the Malvinas (Falkland Islands) and in Australia.
The best countries to see the Northern Lights are Iceland, Greenland, (northern) Canada, Alaska, the Faroe Islands and the northern coast of Siberia, as well as northern Scandinavia, i.e. Norway, Sweden and Finland. You can find the most beautiful places to marvel at the Northern Lights in the gallery. If you Northern lights If you want to see, you should plan your trip between the end of August and mid-April plan, because: In order to see the fascinating lights, you need a clear and dark sky – and the chances are of course best in the dark months!
Tip: If you don’t have the opportunity to travel, you can try your luck using webcams, e.g. B. on the blog of Sonnen-sturm.info!
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