WHAT ARE THE NORTHERN LIGHTS?

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The bright dancing lights of the aurora are actually collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter earth's atmosphere. The temperature above the sun surface is millions of degrees Celsius. At this temperature, collisions between gas molecules are frequent and explosive particles enter the earth's atmosphere and collide with gas particles. These collisions emit light that we perceive as the dancing lights above the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres. They are known as 'Aurora borealis' in the north and 'Aurora australis' in the south.

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Auroral displays appear in many colours although pale green and pink are the most common. The lights of the Aurora generally extend from 80 kilometres (50 miles) to as high as 640 kilometres (400 miles) above the earth's surface. The northern lights occur most frequently in a belt of radius 2500 km centered on the magnetic north pole. This so-called auroral zone extends over Iceland, northern Scandinavia, the southern tip of Greenland and continuing over northern Canada, Alaska and along the northern coast of Siberia.

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WHEN CAN YOU SEE THEM IN ICELAND?

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The main reason you travel to Iceland during the winter months, an island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and the arctic circle, is most likely to see the Northern Lights — and we understand it perfectly! Iceland is not particularly known for its friendship with the sun during summer, but we make up for it with magnificent Northern Lights activity during winter. Optimal time for viewing is between September and early April.