The first clear memory I have of the magnanimity of the Aurora Borealis is a video uploaded by one of the astronauts onboard the International Space Station. And I thought, hmm, ain’t that a view.
A reading on the Northern Lights, scientifically known as the aurora borealis, followed.
Nature, as it turns out, is quite the artist. Here’s how and why the phenomenon occurs.
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The bright dancing lights of the aurora are actually collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth's atmosphere. The lights are seen above the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres. They are known as 'Aurora borealis' in the north and 'Aurora australis' in the south.
Auroral displays appear in many colours although pale green and pink are the most common. Shades of red, yellow, green, blue, and violet have been reported. The lights appear in many forms from patches or scattered clouds of light to streamers, arcs, rippling curtains or shooting rays that light up the sky with an eerie glow.
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The Northern Lights are actually the result of collisions between gaseous particles in the Earth's atmosphere with charged particles released from the sun's atmosphere. Variations in color are due to the type of gas particles that are colliding. The most common auroral colour, a pale yellowish-green, is produced by oxygen molecules located about 60 miles above the earth. Rare, all-red auroras are produced by high-altitude oxygen, at heights of up to 200 miles. Nitrogen produces blue or purplish-red aurora.
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http://www.northernlightscentre.ca/northernlights.html
Now, for us to be able to observe the phenomenon, the following need to be perfectly aligned:
- Minimal, if not a complete lack of, light pollution
- Far, far away from the prying light from the sun: this rules out a major part of the central hemisphere, and necessitates long winters
- And of course, the occurrence of the phenomenon itself
Turns out, there are very few places on earth that afford you such a view. Make no mistake, the phenomenon occurs everywhere across the skies, around the world. But one can’t “see” it as commonly, for one or more of the reasons above.
The Nordic countries, and also northern America, are some potential areas to experience the northern lights (similarly, souther NZ and Australia for southern lights).
History says Mumbai was witness to the lights in the late 1800s. Doubt that should happen anytime soon given how vibrant it is now!
Every so often, I thought of going “chasing” these lights; for that matter, a bunch of my colleagues/class mates visited Alaska hoping to see them. Not a lot of luck for them.
As it so turned out, I was to be in Switzerland in the winter of 2016. And the best part about visiting Europe during the winter is- an easy and convenient access to go hunting for the lights!
After floating this idea with friends, we had a winner! There is a general consensus that Tromso, Norway has become quite the popular destination to view the lights.
Tromso is comfortably in the arctic circle region; around 300kms from the Arctic circle to be precise.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troms%C3%B8 https://www.tumblr.com/search/to%20minore
A friend’s friend had gone the previous year with a group: Chasing Lights. I promptly got in touch with them and signed up!
Yep, we were signed up to go chase the beautiful lights.
The company has a couple of options: a minibus (13 people) and the bigger bus (50 people). We booked ourselves for two nights on the minibus since over the bigger bus, it offered:
- Tripod stands
- Thermal suits and boots
- Dinner, and hot chocolate
- More importantly, being a minibus, easy and quick maneuverability and more reach
* on both, you get assistance on photography and a copy of photos clicked during your chase
Off we were to Tromso from Zurich. Our flight was Zurich – Frankfurt – Tromso. The last two hours of the journey are simply breathtaking as they offer a stunning view of ice-capped mountains and land, and settlements lit up along the blanket of ice and dark grey rivers. (Unfortunately, I was on the aisle seat, as is my travel preference)
Now, although this is just through observation: of the Arctic winter, Sept-Oct and March/April are considered to be the best months to view the activity as the skies are clear and Nov-Feb are generally hit-or-miss since a good amount of snowfall is expected and the skies are overcast.
We landed at Tromso amid grey skies on a tarmac freshly coated with snow and then walked to the terminal. A cab ride later, we checked into the Radisson, in the heart of Tromso; a quaint town on the Tromsoya island with gentle mountains peppered around the sea.
The “chase” typically starts at 6pm from the town and can go until 4am.
In preparation, we layered up: five layers on top, two on bottom and two pairs of socks within snow shoes.
We were last to be picked up by the troupe: a very friendly bunch of three (two guides that led the “chase”, and the driver, who they call the Stig).
Naturally, witnessing the northern lights is not a guarantee but the guides promised every ounce of determination and enthusiasm during the chase. They weren’t kidding: through the course of the chases on both nights, we hopped from one island to another, inland towards the coast, depending on where they anticipated a clear sky.
Now, here’s the thing about the lights: you can’t easily discern them unless the activity is extremely strong and you have a keen eye. You can easily mistake them for clouds. The second, the color (green/pink) isn’t as strongly seen as easily as you see them in the pictures. The pictures are so, because the camera lens are more sensitive than our eyes are in deciphering the light spectrum.
So, as the drive started, our guide had his camera lens settings in order (minimal aperture, high ISO (800-1000), low shutter speed) and pointed towards the sky.
And just as were settling in, mentally prepared for the uncertainty in viewing this phenomenon, he asked to stop and got down. And within a moment, called us out.
We had a sighting!
And a beautiful one at that!
The sight is one to behold: a beautiful wave of green across the sky! We couldn’t help ourselves jumping with joy as we admired the view.
And then just like that, clouds took over the show.
For the next two hours or so, we just looked all over the sky hoping for that clear patch. As we played hide and seek with the clouds, we soaked what was around us: snow-clad mountains, the sea around them and the occasional settlement.
We had a round of hot chocolate while around a bonfire and exchanged stories with others in the group: Polish, American, Danish and Siberian.
The skies probably felt left out and cleared up.
And what followed, ladies and gentlemen, was one of nature’s finest performances: we witnessed the aurora all over the sky, dancing around. For ten seconds or so, we saw the elusive pink lights.
A true spectacle, these aurora are.
We continued our chase for another hour or so, and then returned to our hotel by 3am.
Contentment doesn’t even begin to explain our feeling!
The next day was a completely snow-out, with day-long snow showers and sleet.
We lined up for our second chase that evening, even more excited for how the sighting would be. As we continued with our hide-and-seek with the clouds, we saw lesser activity that we had on the previous night, but with more intensity.
The guides said that after a period of strong activity, the lights (essentially, charged particles) get strewn all over the sky. So, we had the entire sky faintly lit up!
We returned that night as the snow shower was unrelenting, with stars and lights in our eyes.
Most of the activity we witnessed was around the Ringvassoya island.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringvass%C3%B8y
Our experience chasing the northern lights has been nothing short of extraordinary: an exciting rendezvous where nature put on a spectacular show! Something so beautiful that you stand still in the moment watching nature's canvas turn up in its true splendor!