Northern Lights - 北极光

Northern lightsIt is a natural phenomenon that can paint mysterious and surreal colors in the night sky. The southern aurora is also present, but it is not often seen.

Aurora is caused by charged particles ejected by the sun. When these particles reach the earth, they collide with excited particles in the upper atmosphere of the earth to generate a spectacular colorful light show. The charged particles are affected by the magnetic field, so this phenomenon occurs in the high latitude polar regions in the far north or south.

The aurora is usually very dim, but sometimes it is bright enough to read the newspaper at night without moonlight. The brightness and location of the aurora are affected by three factors: the time of year, the 11-year solar cycle, and the solar storm. This will be explained in detail below.

To observe at high northern latitudes, aurora often occurs, but people living in warmer places have never seen aurora, although sometimes they can be seen at 35° north latitude enough to the south. This entry will help you increase your chances of seeing aurora when traveling north.

Different levels of light pollution in various places will cover up the dim aurora. Therefore, a place 30 kilometers away from the city is the preferred observation site. existNot considerIn the case of climate, the key is to be far enough away from the city to get better observation results (this is usually easy, because most of the Arctic regions do not have a large population)

learn

plan

Prepare

There are generally two situations for shooting aurora. One is more popular. It is to shoot aurora with a card camera. The shooting mode is set to manual, the aperture is adjusted to the maximum, the ISO is also adjusted to the maximum, and the shutter is 20 seconds to 30 seconds. In this way, the aurora can be captured; the other situation is shooting with a SLR camera, the lens is adjusted to manual shooting, the ISO is the highest, and the shutter is 20 to 30 seconds. This is able to capture the aurora. If you want to shoot well, The lens is manual, the aperture value is between 8-11, the shutter is set to B, the ISO is between 200-400, the exposure time is 3 minutes to 5 minutes, then the tripod, shutter release, wide-angle lens, fixed focus lens, cleaning kit , Spare batteries are necessary! Clothing is a down jacket, waterproof pants, warm snow boots, warm and soft gloves, a hat that can cover the ears, and a face protection. If all these are prepared, there will be no problem!

Place

The northern lights can be observed in the areas within the Arctic Circle from mid-September to March of the following year each year, including Norway, Sweden, Finland, northern Iceland, Greenland, Siberia, Alaska and northern Canada in Northern Europe. November in late autumn and February-February in early spring are the best seasons for observation. Because there are many residents living in northern Northern Europe, tourism development has been done earlier, so it is a good place for ordinary tourists to observe the aurora, and it can also be combined with other local special tours.

1. NorwayThe Northern Lights Research Center is located on the island of Andenes in the Atlantic Ocean at 70 degrees north latitude. It is affiliated to the Norwegian Rocket Roaming Base. Observation tower. Because of the surrounding sea, the field of vision is wide, which is conducive to observation. There are various grades of accommodation and living facilities on the island. You can arrive by plane (Norwegian domestic flight), train, coach or car.
2. SwedenKIRUNA in the north. Located 190 kilometers within the Arctic Circle, it is also the location of the world-famous ice hotel. It is located in LAPPLAND Province-the last desert in Europe, surrounded by several national parks, with spectacular natural scenery and a good place for ice and snow sports. It is easy to reach by domestic flights, trains, or by car. This place is an important town in northern Sweden. There are various grades of accommodation and living facilities in the city. Observe the Northern Lights at night, and during the day you can visit other scenic spots or engage in snow sports such as skiing, dog sledding, and snowmobiling. The local tourism bureau also organizes a dog sled ride to the top of the national park to see the aurora, which is very interesting. The northern lights forecast telephone number of the Swedish Space Physics Center is 0900-1001040 or 0716-1004 (call from within Sweden), which provides aurora forecasts in the Nordic region. It can also be sent via mobile phone SMS.
3. FinlandThe Sodankylä Geographic Observatory, located at 67 degrees north latitude, belongs to the University of Oulu. The aurora observatory and planetarium are shaped in the traditional architectural style of the Arctic Sami people. They are open to tourists. The Northern Lights forecast telephone of the Finnish National Meteorological Center is 0600-93807. Provide aurora forecast within 3 days
4. AmericaAlaskaFairbanks, a famous aurora observatory, is a small city close to the Arctic Circle and often hosts polar sports competitions. It is the location of the research center of the School of Geography of the University of Alaska. The temperature in winter can reach below minus 60 degrees.
5. In the Northwest Territories and Yukon regions of northern Canada, there are many places that organize tourists to observe the aurora, all of which are south of the Arctic Circle.

Southern Aurora