The northern lights: nature's most beautiful phenomenon

In December 2024, forecasters at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center reported heightened solar activity, triggering a series of events that led to geomagnetic storms aimed at Earth. This made it possible to see the northern lights from several northern US states on New Year's Eve, including Wisconsin, as shown in this photo.

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Naked eye - The human eye can see the northern lights during the evening or at night.

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Lights - The phenomenon consists of colorful bright lights, usually green or reddish.

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How it happens - The aurora borealis happens when particles brought by the solar winds enter Earth’s atmosphere and collide violently with the planet's magnetic field.

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Shapes - The hypnotizing light display tends to move irregularly in the sky.

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Rays and lights - They are formed in the magnetic zenith and tend to display a semi-circular shape.

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Irregular - The luminous intensity of the aurora borealis is very irregular and pulsating.

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Tones - The color is a shade of green because this is the range produced when particles collide with oxygen.

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Where - The lights of the aurora borealis usually extend roughly 60 to 75 miles above the Earth's surface.

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Best time of the year - The lights are usually more intense from September or October until March or April.

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Artificial northern lights - The phenomenon can be artificially reproduced, inside a lab or through a nuclear explosion.

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Origin - Scientist Galileu Galilei named the natural event Aurora Borealis in 1619.

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Aurora borealis -

The name was given as a reference to Aurora, the Roman goddess of the dawn.

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Name - Boreas was a Greek god who controlled the north winds.

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Destinations - These are the best places to spot the northern lights:

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Tromsø, Norway - The aurora borealis has been celebrated for over 25 years at the northern lights Festival in the Norwegian city of Tromsø.

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Isle of Skye, Scotland - This is the ideal place to watch what the Scottish call the "mirrie dancers."

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Nellim, Finland - Nellim is in Lapland, around 5 miles from the Russian border. This is one of the best spots to watch the northern lights in Finland.

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Idaho Panhandle National Forests, US - At the northern tip of the Idaho Panhandle, this national park is the perfect place to take a walk and spot the aurora borealis.

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Akureyri, Iceland - In Iceland, people believe that the northern lights are actually angels dancing in the sky.

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Yellowknife, Canada - In this wild region, there's a 90% chance you'll see the northern lights.

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Abisko, Sweden - This village in Sweden has a micro-climate that is mainly cloudless. This improves the chances of seeing the northern lights.

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Murmansk, Russia - Every winter in Russia, the northern lights are visible roughly 15 to 20 times.

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Inishowen, Ireland - The low luminous pollution levels make this Irish peninsula a great spot to watch the lights.

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Longyearbyen, Norway - This city is located around 560 miles north of continental Norway, which means it is a perfect place to catch the natural phenomenon.

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Kangerlussuaq, Greenland -

This place has 300 days a year of clear skies and it is perfectly located in the middle of the northern lights belt.

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Wisconsin, USA -

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The northern lights: nature's most beautiful phenomenon

Learn all about the aurora borealis

24/03/23 | Jasmeen Siddiqui

TRAVEL Aurora borealis

The aurora borealis is a stunning natural phenomenon that blows away anyone lucky enough to catch a glimpse of it. Science says it is the result of sun particles colliding with the Earth's atmosphere, but Icelandic legends say the magical lights are angels dancing in the sky!

This spectacular natural light show is usually associated with Europe's most northern countries like Iceland, Sweden, and Denmark, where it's most visible.

It's difficult to predict the exact timing and location of the majestic lights. However, the best time to view the multicolored display is usually in the hours immediately before or after midnight. It also helps to get as far away from any light pollution as possible. There are also various apps and platforms that can alert you when the lights are on show in your area. Or you can check them out now! Click on for dazzling photos of the phenomena and learn all about the aurora borealis.