It astounds me that so few people that I've met have actually seen the northern lights. Everyone I ask, be it in my university, old retired people who have traveled, or online, says they haven't experienced this light show.
How many people in /trv/ have actually seen a full show of northern lights? When and where did you see it? Was it worth it?
I'm particularly interested in Canada, has anyone from Canada seen these?
I was having dinner over at a work colleagues place eating steamed hams. He claimed aurora borealis was in his kitchen but refused to let me see it.
Flights to Iceland are getting pretty cheap. Thinking of take a short trip over there next winter and trying to catch a glimpse of them. It's just luck of the draw though, if they are going to be happening when you're there and if there will be no cloud cover.
My parents tell I've seen before when they took me to Alaska when I was 3.
i want to visit north of Russia to see it in future. It's gonna be cheap
I've just been to Reykjavik and I got to see the Northern Lights, however despite clear skies and moderate activity, it looked nothing like that photo in the OP.
Most of those photos are taken with long exposure cameras.
In real life, it looked sort of like a band of lighter sky against the darker sky, with a vague green tint. I was more impressed with the stars in the sky from the lack of light pollution, and the shooting stars we were lucky to see.
I'm sure there are places and/or activity levels where it looks like your picture to the naked eye, but you'll have to be very lucky to see it.
>>1081507
>Reykjavik
Yea, they are quite faint in the city. Too much light. But, not even 20 minutes in a vehicle and they are stunning. I've been to Iceland where I go both north and south and then back to "basecamp" in Reykjavik inbetween. Though it'll be clean in the city, it's a big difference.
What is nice about the lights in Iceland is the horizon to horizon visibility without trees and other clutter.
I've only seen green-ish/pink lights there, none of the full spectrum of crazy colors I've seen in photos from other places. For people who have not seen them, what is sometimes not imagined is how frequently they move and shift. The motion twists like a dna helix and then untwists, and showers like fireworks falling, and so forth, just constant show-time going on.
>>1081513
We were about 30-40 minutes out of the city, so not in Reykjavik itself. It could have just been the activity intensity was on the lower end that evening. It was still better than nothing though.
I can vouch for the movement though, they shift and change almost constantly
Saw an awesome Northern light show in Abisko, Sweden about 2 weeks ago. Great place to see them since you are in the artic circle and far from any major cities. I have a great story for this picture if anyone would like to hear it
>>1081513
I completely agree. When I saw them it looked like a faint greenish colored cloud at first. After watching for a few minutes you could see the cloud "dance." If you want a good picture I recommend getting a decent camera or even go pros can take some nice time lapse. Got decent footage on mine
>>1081396
I saw them once on the old highway between Montreal and Ottawa - really epic, but this was a chance occurrence. Friends who live in the Yukon see them a lot. A strong show is amazing.
>>1081396
I've seen them a lot in Northern Wisconsin. They're cool.
did it in tromso, norway.
best experience ever.
we got the full show twice when the colours were changing. lasted about 30 seconds each.
I was in northern Alberta in the summer and saw them, which was very lucky given the time of year. It was a pretty perfect moment - I was sat around a campfire with about ten friends just drinking beer and talking, and suddenly the show started overhead. These weren't just flickers either, they were the real deal - all the Canadians in the group said it was the strongest they'd ever seen them, regardless of time of year. It remains one of my travel highlights.
>>1081426
Underrated post
I wish my life to end under the illuminating gleam of the aurora borealis.
Sadly, I am a poor lower class citizen with drug addicts as parents and will probably never experience such a sight.
>>1081396
>Norfag
Saw it plenty of times during my year in the mandatory military service.
There isin't sunlight in northern Norway during the winter, so it was amazing when it showed up.
>Was it worth it?
Nope, the whole year was cold and full of hate.
Think this can be seen from the NY-Canadian border?
Also any way to predict their intensity? Forcasts?
Has anybody tried this ? http://kakslauttanen.fi/
It's fucking expensive but at the same time I feel like it would make for the best romantic trip ever. Igloos, 2 days husky safari, comfy as fuck wooden houses and shitton of other things. So tourist trap or as cool as it looks ?
>>1081751
The Montreal-Ottawa sighting was in winter, as far as I remember. But it was a long time ago. I've only seen them twice in my life - the other time they were very faint. Both times they were green.
I live in Iceland so I've seen them plenty of times. They're rarely as strong as many photos depict but I've seen some that are almost as strong as that.
>>1081537
Pls tell, I want to see them someday.
>>1081507
I had exactly same experience in Norway last year. Just a white strech of light across the sky. Still impresive tho.
But the falling starts have been the real treat. I could actually see them burn. Beautiful.
I've seen them in North Dakota but they look nothing like pics online. It's so faint in real life.
>>1081396
Depends what you mean by "full show." I have seen them once, in Iceland, on a trip I took prompted by wanting to see them (though obviously I did other stuff while there.)
It was a full moon, so the display was not as spectacular as it might have been, but it was still pretty amazing Hope to see them again some day.
>>1081887
There's a website that tracks the likelihood of an auroral display, and areas where it is forecast to be visible (cloud cover permitting.)
Found it on Google -- if you can't find it, let me know, I have the link on another computer. But it was an easy Google.
They can be seen surprisingly far from the pole, but the further south you go (or north, in the other hemisphere) the fewer nights in a given year get a show.
>>1081903
I haven't been there myself but I've heard it's cool. I'm not sure what you mean by tourist trap. Obviously it was built for tourists, I don't think that many Finns will be going there. I'm from Lapland and I'd like to go there but it's probably too expensive for me. People staying in Kakslauttanen are probably mostly tourists but hikers and the like go to Saariselkä as well.
>>1081666
Also curious to know what time of year this was. Doing some WWOOF in norway in september/october so I was thinking the fact I'm outside of a main city will give me a good chance
>>1083056
If you're in Tromso you have a good chance. If you're in the south, you don't have a very good chance
>>1081396
I live and work in Northern Norway as a dog musher so I get to see them pretty much anytime there is a clear evening.
Torngat Mountains in Labrador and Wood Buffalo National Park in Alberta were the best shows I've ever seen. I've never been north of 60 though, so there may be better shows, but both of these areas are remote and free of light pollution, fairly far north, and have lots of other great nature/wilderness tourism.
>>1082659
It's faint because of how far south you are. In the far north it's much more impressive.
I spend 4 moths halfway up Finland. I took 2 trips to lapland for 5 days each and didn't see them them there but saw them a few weeks later in Vaasa Finland (where i lived). Apparently they were the brightest and most powerfull that night in about 10 years.
Yes they were nice. But a friend of mine was taking semi-pro pictures with long exposures, 5 seconds or so, and those were waaaaay more spectacular that what you could see with your own eyes. You will never see them as amazing as the pictures. In my opninion a pretty overrated fenomenon.
>>1081717
Pleb
What would be the chances of seeing it in Northern Finland/Swedan in July/August
Plan to do some travel around then and seeing them would be something Id like to get in
>>1085254
Check how many hours of darkness you get on the specific days/places. Early July above the Arctic Circle, don't expect things to ever be dark enough to see the Aurora.
>>1083955
So are they always present it's just a matter of visibility?
>>1081396
>Not visiting Barrow Alaska to see the lights
This is the best location for viewing, not necessarily infrastructure.
>>1085286
Not always as it comes in waves. You could have a few hours of just night sky but then you'll see the lights for a few minutes and then back to night sky again. It really depends mainly on solar activity and a clear sky. If you have both of these then you'll have a very very good chance of seeing it - though you just have to be outside at the right time!
I went to Finland last year on a research thing and got to see them a couple of times. They're much bigger and mobile than I thought they'd be.
>tfw you step off a 4 hour coach ride, look up and see the sky lit up in green fire
