Bucket List: How to best see the Northern Lights

Is seeing the Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, on your Bucket List?

As you may have read in my last post, 10 Things to See While in Iceland, you could probably pick up on my dismay at not being able to capture the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights on film. Well,  let me tell you that on a recent trip I made to Iceland, I can gladly say I was FINALLY able to see them clearly with my own two eyes as well as catch the lights dancing all over on my camera.

The Aurora Borealis is so elusive for many reasons but you just might be able to increase your chances of seeing them by following a few of these tips.

What is the Aurora Borealis?

Listen…I’m not a scientist, so rather than try to explain such a crazy phenomenon I will leave a link to the information compiled by the U.S Library of Congress and you can read it on your own and see if you can make sense of the Northern Lights.

Where is the best place to see the Aurora Borealis?

I know that many of you have to see this spectacular phenomenon on your list of things to accomplish in life and I assume that many other’s have been chasing these elusive dancing lights for quite some time.

In order to see the Northern Lights you have to go to areas that have a statistically higher probability of sightings. This means that the closer you get to the Arctic Circle the better your chances. You actually have to be within a certain ring around the Arctic Circle and not too close or too far from that ring. If you go all the way to the North Pole you may be too far past the ring. The ring does shift as the Earth moves as well so sometimes it feels like you just have to be in the right time at the right place. Usually, if you’re between 66 to 69 North latitude you may have better chances. I’m not sure who to give credit to for the image below but it’s a great visual representation of what I mean by the ring around the Earth.

I’ve had brief sightings of the lights the last time I was in Iceland as well as in Anchorage, Alaska, USA. Many of the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Sweden, and Finland have high probabilities of Northern Lights sightings. Some places that have pretty high probabilities for Northern Lights sightings are:

• Yellowknife, NT, Canada
• Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
• Tromso, Norway
• Unstad, Lofoten, Norway
• Cairngorms National Park, Scotland
• Abisko, Sweden

There are no guarantees in seeing the lights but as I mentioned, the closer to the Arctic Circle the better. Also, since the Northern Lights are sometimes unpredictable, the list above is subject to change as the strength of the solar flares varies.

When is the best time to see the Northern Lights?

First, and this might be quite obvious, but at night. The Northern Lights can be seen within the city limits of many cities but if you’re trying to photograph the Aurora Borealis, you want to minimize the amount of light pollution you have. If you’re not worried about photography then the lights are still best seen at night.

Secondly, many of the locations mentioned above are in winter from around September to late February/March. Subsequently, there are fewer hours of daylight during these months. There are even days in December in some towns around the Arctic ring where the sun rises at 11 a.m. and sets at 3 p.m. So, it may be easier to see the Northern Lights if you visit during the winter months. Minimize light pollution. The further away you get from the city and external sources of light, the better. The darker the better!

Thirdly, I know I said the lights are unpredictable but there are some aspects that are somewhat predictable. The lights usually show up the best around the times between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m.

The last time I visited Iceland, we went aurora hunting as a part of a tour. We were just about to leave the spot we had been using to search for the lights and then everyone started to run around in panic mode. I literally could not contain my emotions when the lights showed themselves. I started breathing heavy, mainly because of rushing to re-setup my tripod and readjust my setting again as I had been in preparation to leave without a sighting. I also started to cry just in total disbelief of what was actually happening in front of my eyes. It was just too much for my brain and body to process. I stopped feeling cold and my body just focused on the spectacle unfolding in the sky. I was also super excited because I was there with my best friend and it was on both of our lists to see the Northern Lights. We were only in Iceland for about 36 hours and only had one night to see the lights. Perfect time, perfect place, and a perfect shared memory.

Do you have any other tips I should remember?

Well, I’m glad you asked because I have just a few things I believe you should remember.

• Be ready with your camera. Sometimes the lights will only last for a few seconds and sometimes they aren’t that bright where you can’t see them with your eyesight. So, learn how to use your camera moderately well before you go on any Aurora hunts as you’ll need to be able to change several of your camera settings quickly at one time in order to get a decent picture. You can read more about camera settings for great aurora photographs. Be prepared for some cold nights! I left some tips in my blog post 10 Things to See While in Iceland regarding how to best survive the cold. I REALLY suggest you get HotHands hand and feet warmers to keep you warm!
• Check the weather before you go out because clouds can ruin your hunt.
• Download an app to help predict the best place(s) to venture out in order to catch the lights. One app that I suggest is My Aurora Forecast & Alerts for IOS and Android. It helps you by providing the best locations to view the lights, the KP index (measures geomagnetic activity or the strength of the lights), viewing probability, and other key stats to help you be the best aurora hunter. It even sends you alerts about aurora activity.
• Follow the tour buses if you don’t know where you’re going or take one of the Northern Lights tours and then take note of where they go and then try to go out yourself if you rent a car. I will write a review at a later date of my two tours with Reykjavik Excursions so stay tuned.
• You most likely won’t be able to catch the lights on your cell phone unless you have a few apps on your phone and even then, you may not be able to see them as clearly as you would if you have a hand-held camera or DSLR. The cameras I’ve used are a Nikon D3200 with 18-55mm lens and a Sony Cyber-shot RX100 digital camera. The Sony camera actually worked a bit better as I was able to get my aperture setting much lower than 2.8.

• Since the shutter of your camera will be open longer than if you were taking daylight photos, you may want to check to see if there are any Dark Sky locations near where you’re traveling to. These locations typically have the lowest light pollution. People who also like to capture stars and the night skies may also like Dark Sky locations. To keep safe just in the case that you get caught in a snowstorm or have an emergency, register on 112 Iceland or download the app. It sends your GPS location to Icelandic search and rescue so they can pinpoint you in the event of an emergency. This app isn’t just good for Aurora nights but just in general while in Iceland and there is an emergency.

One thing I really don’t want you to forget is to just be there in the moment and look with your eyes and make a memory of the entire experience (how cold you felt, who you went with, the excitement and joy you felt, the beauty of nature, etc). I know we sometimes get wrapped up sometimes on trying to document everything for social media but it’s very important to just envelop yourself in just being present in that moment because you might lose your footage but at least you will have the memories.