Nature's Spectacular Light Shows
Shimmering across the night skies near the northern and southern poles, the auroras are one of the most dazzling and awe-inspiring natural phenomena on Earth. These brilliant, dancing curtains of colored lights have captivated humanity’s wonder for millennia as their ethereal greens, pinks, purples and blues blaze spontaneously overhead. While known scientifically as the Aurora Borealis in the North and Aurora Australis in the Antarctic region, to witness an auroral display in person is to experience the heavens putting on a breathtaking visual performance exclusively for the adventurous souls willing to voyage to the remote polar realms.
What Causes the Auroras?
Despite their seemingly supernatural appearances, the auroral lights are actually created through the complex intersection of the Earth’s magnetic fields with charged particles and solar winds continuously streaming from the sun. As these energized particles enter the upper atmosphere near the magnetic poles, they interact and become excited by the varying gases present. This excitation process releases dazzling photon emissions of light in a variety of colors depending on the gas composition and particle energies involved.
While auroral displays can occur anywhere within ovals roughly 10-20 degrees away from the magnetic poles, certain regions like Alaska, northern Scandinavia, Siberia, southern Greenland and Antarctica provide prime, unobstructed views of these celestial light shows frequently lighting up the night skies throughout the long polar winters.
Auroral Forecasting
Though often appearing random and fleeting, significant auroras can actually be predicted to a certain degree based on solar activity and disturbances like coronal mass ejections. Scientists closely monitor the sun’s behavior and magnetic field conditions to issue aurora forecasts and estimate when potential particle storms may spawn vivid displays over different polar areas. Several online services now exist to alert aurora chasers on optimal Northern/Southern Lights viewing possibilities based on these forecasts.
However, even during peak auroral activity, witnessing these ghostly illuminations in their full glory requires considerable dedication, patience and perseverance. Not only must observers be situated in prime polar latitudes during the ideal winter/equinox seasons and darkest overnight hours, but they must also contend with the fickle weather conditions of whiteouts, clouds and moon brightness that can dampen or completely obscure an auroral event’s visibility.
Chasing the Auroras
Despite these viewing challenges, a growing community of devoted extreme photographers, videographers and outdoor adventurers have taken up the quest of documenting the northern and southern auroras through a variety of innovative pursuits:
Arctic Village Tours – From the auroral ovals of northern Alaska and Scandinavia, to remote lodges deep in the northern Canadian wilderness, tour companies now offer multi-day packages centered entirely around increasing guests’ odds of experiencing this legendary light show via optimal positioning and scouting.
Antarctic Expeditions – The Southern Lights or Aurora Australis can best be viewed from the Antarctic Peninsula, Ross Sea or isolated subantarctic islands via limited but carefully timed expedition cruises during the peak austral winter periods.
Winter Photography Tours – For pro and amateur aurora shutterbugs, specialized polar photography tours provide ideal scouted locations, expertise and extreme cold weather gear to help capture stunning images and timelapses of auroral activity over arctic nights.
Glamping & Mobile Camps – To increase odds in unpredictable locations, glamping services now bring heated yurt villages or even mobile camp units directly to recently forecasted auroral hot spots across remote tundra locations.
Whether through guided viewing experiences or taking the self-guided route of camping under the night skies, dedicated aurora chasers consider the extensive preparation and endurance of polar travel well worth the potential payoff of witnessing Mother Nature’s most miraculous celestial production up close. As solar activity is projected to increase, this bucket list spectacle may become brighter and more frequent for those willing to venture into the high Arctic and Antarctic frontiers.