ON THE HUNT FOR THE NORTHERN LIGHTS

The Basics of Northern Lights Chasing

Go north. In northern Lapland the lights shine about every other clear night between September and March. In southern Finland they are visible on about 10-20 nights a year.

Look to the stars. If you notice that the night sky is clear and starry, your chances of seeing the northern lights are good.

Stay outside. The lights might unexpectedly appear and just as suddenly vanish any time from just after sunset to just before dawn. Bright auroral displays can even light up the snowy arctic landscape enough to help skiers find the way home.

Wrap up warm. It tends to be very chilly on the clear winter nights when the lights are most easily seen. A great alternative, of course, is to stay in a purpose-built igloo or cottage and watch the lights from a comfy, warm bed instead.

Darkness is your friend. Get away from bright lights and buildings. Hilltops and lakeshores make good vantage points.

Sign up for aurora alerts. On the Finnish Meteorological Institute’s informative Auroras Now! website, you can sign up for free e-mail alerts sent whenever magnetic conditions in the skies over Finland make auroral displays likely.

Though they might look almost within reach, auroras form at altitudes of over 100 km. Auroras are caused by electronically charged particles originating from the sun. Multi-coloured displays form when different atmospheric gases are agitated by this solar wind.