Northern lights blaze in Lapland A green light dancing through the night sky would charm just about anybody. The northern lights have always been mysterious and unpredictable. Both residents and visitors in Lapland are in the fortunate position to be able to observe this magnificent yearly spectacle. TEXT RIITTA KARHUSILTA
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o view the northern lights, it must be sufficiently dark and the sky must be as cloud-free as possible. Observers must move away from the lights of residential settlements, towards darker areas, to scout the northern sky. The best time for viewing the northern lights are the hours on both sides of midnight. The displays of the northern lights generally culminate between 22- 23.30, i.e., the so called, magnetic midnight. However, the northern lights can also be observed during evenings. During the early morning, the amount of occurrences of the northern lights decreases once again.
STORIES AND BELIEFS. The Finnish word for the northern lights, “revontulet”, refers to a fox. The story goes that a fire fox rubbed its side on a fell, whereupon sparks flew off into the sky as northern lights. According to a second version, the tail of a fox swept the
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I ❤ Lapland
northern lights up from a snow drift into the sky. The glow of the northern lights often resembles flames or the sweep of a fox’s tail. According to Siberian folklore, a child born under the light of the northern lights will have a happy and long life. WHAT VARIATIONS OF NORTHERN LIGHTS ARE THERE? Each and every
burst of the northern lights is a little bit different. The most common form is, however, a yellowish-green arc in the northern sky. It becomes clearer over time, will start to churn and can even, for a moment, cover the entire sky. In addition, a purple colour can be seen, sometimes even red. A northern lights corona may be talked about, when the northern Lights open up directly above the observer, lighting up in a radial manner from a single point, resembling an umbrella. SUBSCRIBE TO A NORTHERN LIGHTS ALERT. The scientific name for the
northern lights is aurora borealis. The
frequency of the northern lights is dependent on the activity of the sun, which varies in cycles that are about 11-years long. The most recent sunspot maximum has just taken place, while the longer-term space weather is expected to abate in Northern Lapland. The northern lights, however, can still be well seen. The light of the northern lights is generated in the stratosphere, at an altitude of about 100-200 km. The Meteorological Institute maintains a free alert concerning the northern lights. It sends an email message to those who are interested in the matter, informing recipients of when the Northern Lights are likely to be the most noticeable. You can join up with the northern lights alert list via aurorasnow-feed@posti.fmi.fi. Auroras Now! is a space weather service, which facilitates the observation of the northern lights in Finland. The service includes magnetic field detectors, as well as near real-time camera images of the northern lights.