When are the northern lights and where can they be viewed?

Question

When are the northern lights and where can they be viewed?

Answer 1

The northern lights don't happen like clock work, so you can't mark a "Northern Lights Day!!" on your calendar. There are ways of predicting when it CAN happen and that has to do with solar flares. Basically, the Northern Lights happen when a solar flare on the Sun ejects matter into space in the direction of the Earth. When that matter reaches Earth, it's electrically charged and reacts with the Earth's magnetic field. Sometime's very strong solar flares have been known to mess with electronic equipment down on the ground, possibly causing massive power outages. BUT! Most of the time they are reflected by Earth's magnetic field. Sometimes they find a way into our atmosphere at the poles and the electrically charged particles from the solar flare react with the particles in the atmosphere, causing what we call the Northern Lights. Where they can be viewed is determined by the strength of the solar flare causing it.

Answer 2

northern lights, are the color reflections, from the sun, shining through or on the glaciers, which in turn, acts as a prism.... and casts the rays as in the sky. they can be viewed up north, and in Alaska.

Answer 3

They are called Aurora Borealis and are caused by particles from the sun, called solar wind, that excite the gases in the atmosphere, causing the effect you see as the northern lights. They are in different colors like red, green, or purple. You can view them in a northern area like Canada, Alaska, Norway, Russia, Greenland, and many others as well

Answer 4

Just another (still-awed) viewer in Westhampton Beach New York. (40.85 and 73.72). It was the late 60's. Party on the beach. We had a bottle of wine and we thought God had come after all and the world was ending. Awesome!

Never before or since have I seen anything as thrilling.

And no, there was no LSD in the wine:)

Answer 5

I believe they can be viewed in Alaska!

Answer 6

The exact location as to where the Northern Lights can be viewed varies, depending on solar activity.

If the solar activity is high, for instance, one can see the Northern Lights at a more southerly latitude than can be seen ordinarily.

Usually, however, one can see the Aurora Borealis (as it is formally called), north of latitudes of about 50 degrees north of the equator, (or about the latitude of Edmonton, Alberta).

Also, because of the short summer nights, the best times to see the Lights are winter, spring, and fall.  

However, because winters at such far northern latitudes can be uncomfortably cold, the best times to see the Aurora Borealis would be spring and fall.

Answer 7

When:  the Northern LIghts (Aurora Borealis) occur when the sun has solar flares and prominences, which travel on the solar wind and create magnetic disturbances in the magnetosphere (earth's upper atmosphere).  

Large storms are most common during the peak of the sun's 11 year sunspot cycle, and in the three years following.  

Where:  most commonly in the polar zones (north pole for Aurora Borealis, south pole for Aurora Australis) but the northern lights have been seen as far south as 45 degrees N.  

A good website is http://www.spaceweather.com

Answer 8

Northern parts of the Nordic countries, including all of Greenland and Svalbard.

Northern parts of Alaska, USA.

Northern and middle parts of Canada.

Northern parts of Russia.

90 % of the time, auroral displays occur only within these areas

no one knows the exact time until a few hours before the actual display.

Answer 9

There's not a specific time when you can view them and their in Alaska and some other places up north!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_(ast...

Answer 10

I'm not entirely sure when the best time to see them is, but here is a list of places that you can see them from:

http://www.otbeach.com/news/resorts-and-...

Answer 11

there is no set time, i have seen them in the summer, fall and winter and they can be viewed from northern new york state anyways

Answer 12

north