View The Northern Lights
The Northern Lights are fantastic displays in the sky that you can only witness during specific times of the year. Just like how people get so excited about witnessing an eclipse, seeing and experiencing the Northern Lights will prove to be a wondrous and memorable experience for any person. However, while people all over the world can see an eclipse wherever they are located, they need to travel to the North just to see the Aurora Borealis. The challenging part is that you have to know the best time to visit the North; otherwise, your trip will be a disappointment.
The Best Times to See the Northern Lights
The best times to view the Northern Lights are between 10PM to 2AM, solar time. This is the best time and guaranteed range of time that an Aurora activity will climax.
For the months of April to October, the solar time is the daylight savings time and comes after 2.5 hours. From November through March, the solar time is the standard daylight time and comes after 1.5 hours.
You can view the Northern Lights between 11:30PM to 3:30AM during the wintertime. The peak hour of Aurora activity is 1:30AM. On the other hand, if you are viewing the Northern Lights during the fall or spring season (September to March), the best time is between 12:30AM to 4:30AM with the peak hour at 2:30AM. It will be best to keep an eye out during these hours, as the appearance can be unpredictable at times.
The Visibility of the Northern Lights
How clearly will you be able to view the Northern Lights? The clarity of the polar lights will vary in intensity, and it will depend on whether the sky is clear or dark. The darker the sky is, the more visible the polar lights will be. Indeed, a darker sky makes all colors visible, however, if the sky is cloudy, this can disrupt the view of the polar lights. What you need to know is that the Northern Lights activities vary every night. There are nights that the lights won’t appear while there are nights that they are very clearly visible in the sky.
Best Time of the Year to See the Northern Lights
If you want to make sure that you see the Northern Lights during your cruise or vacation, you should schedule your trip sometime between March and September. During these months, the Aurora Borealis projects greenish yellow lights or multi-colored flashes in the sky. Furthermore, these months have favorable weather conditions to see the Northern Lights. The weather is mild with darker skies and with very few clouds.
It is important to note that the magnetic field activity that is causing the Northern Lights to appear is unpredictable throughout the whole year. Although it is always active, a few days of vacation may not bring you luck when attempting to see the Northern Lights. Do not go during summer time because the long daylight hours make the lights less likely to appear and the mid-winter temperature doesn’t offer great views, either.
