WHERE ARE THE NORTHERN LIGHTS PLUS

Between 4am and 5pm there is generally too much daylight to see the aurora – exceptions are the darkest months of the year and higher latitudes such Svalbard, where it is dark 24/7 from mid-Nov to end of Jan.The strongest lights tend to appear between 9pm and 2am, though the best sightings often occur between 11pm and midnight.November through to February offer the darkest skies and longer evenings for maximum sky-gazing.

WHERE ARE THE NORTHERN LIGHTS PLUS

Spring and autumn generally provide more stable weather conditions and milder temperatures plus there is greater aurora activity around the equinoxes.

While they occur year round they are weaker than sunlight and therefore sightings aren’t possible from May to July and for most of August. The aurora borealis are potentially visible under dark skies from late August to mid-April preferably under a clear, cloudless sky. Interestingly, the northern and southern lights, or aurora australis, occur simultaneously but the inverse seasons mean they generally aren’t visible at the same time. They usually occur between 60 and 75 degrees of latitude, which covers northern parts of Canada, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Alaska and Russia as well as all of Iceland. These magnetic fields create auroral ovals around the top and bottom of our planet which move and distort as the earth rotates and solar flare activity increases. This occurs around the Polar Regions where those magnetic fields converge. The northern lights and their counterpart in the southern hemisphere appear when highly charged solar wind particles flowing from the sun collide with air molecules in the earth’s atmosphere transferring their energy into light. It’s said the term was first coined by Galileo in 1623 and is derived from ‘Aurora’, the goddess of the dawn and ‘Boreas’, the northern wind personified. Image © Brendan Diver Bren Whelan - Donegal Climbingĭonegalclimbing.ie northern lights are also known as the aurora borealis, meaning light of dawn. Donegal. Image © Adam Rory Porterīrendan Diver - Photos from Ireland Photography Workshops and Tours - Ballyliffin, Inishowen, Co. You can find interesting information about Northern Lights, camera equipment and the weather forecast tips on their individual websites. You can also get in touch with these providers directly if you have any specific questions.Īdam Rory Porter - The Northern Light Gallery & Studioīuncrana, Inishowen, Co.

There are a number of providers in Donegal offering Northern Lights photography tours. A negative Bz helps the solar wind grab the Earth's magnetic field which can more easily lead to an Aurora. Although Aurora Borealis can happen with a positive Bz, a negative Bz is generally better. Bz is the solar wind's magnetic orientation in the up/down direction. It goes from 0 to 9 (0 being very weak, 9 being a major geomagnetic storm with strong auroras visible), as well as real time Bz. The Kp number is a system of measuring Aurora strength. First of all look at the weather forecast for where you are planning to go to and if you have clear skies with no rain or bright moon light your chances are better. There are a few things you can do to increase your chances of seeing them. Nitrogen produces blue or purplish-red aurora. Rare, all-red auroras are produced by high-altitude oxygen, at heights of up to 200 miles. The most common auroral color, a pale yellowish-green, is produced by oxygen molecules located about 60 miles above the earth. The different colours that can be seen depend on the type of gas particles that are colliding. Gaseous particles in the Earth's atmosphere collide with electrically charged particles released from the sun's atmosphere. In the northern hemisphere they are known as 'Aurora Borealis' and 'Aurora Australis' in the southern hemisphere. The skies above the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres are where they can be seen. The Northern Lights are the result of electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth's atmosphere. However, other locations in the north of the County, with little light pollution, like Fanad Peninsula are also ideal to watch the skies. Due to the low light pollution, also Dunree, Mamore Gap and Ballyliffin are prime locations in which to get the perfect photograph. As the most northerly point in Ireland, Malin Head in Inishowen is undoubtedly the best place on the island to witness the astonomical phenomenon of Aurora Borealis.

Where are the northern lights