Northern lights in Murmansk are not uncommon. Thousands of tourists from all over the planet come to see him in our city. This phenomenon is one of the most exciting in nature. The Northern Lights can stretch across the entire visible horizon. This phenomenon (locally) can last from a few seconds to several hours. But how to calculate the time of arrival in order to see the Northern Lights for sure? How do you know where it will happen?
In this article, we will briefly answer the questions:
- Where to see the Northern Lights?
- When does the Northern Lights appear?
- Likely to see the Northern Lights?
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Let’s see what the Northern Lights are?
The Northern Lights, otherwise called the Aurora Borealis, is the glow of the upper layers of the earth’s atmosphere due to the interaction of the planet’s magnetosphere and charged particles of the solar wind. For more information about this incredible natural phenomenon, as well as the principle of its appearance, what processes occur during the glow, at what altitude does the Northern Lights occur and other interesting facts, you will find on Wikipedia following the link . And we will start answering questions.
Where to see the Northern Lights?
The Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, are found most often at the poles, in high latitudes, in oval zones-belts, they are called auroral ovals. But cases were noticed in the central part. For example, on the night of October 8, 2018, residents of St. Petersburg observed the Northern Lights. This is due to increased solar activity. Under such conditions, the auroral oval expands and the ability to see the Northern Lights only at latitudes 67-70 ° increases up to 25 ° to the south.
The Northern Lights are also found on the southern side of the earth – the Southern Lights.
When does the Northern Lights appear?
Northern lights in Murmansk are quite frequent, but not daily. Because it’s nature, it’s hard to say the exact odds, but you can find out the approximate percentage. A huge number of meteorological sites monitor the weather. Some of them are engaged in monitoring space activity and tracking the Northern Lights. Spaceweather is one of the popular bourgeois sites that track various phenomena and indicators.
The appearance of the Northern Lights is largely dependent on disturbances in the earth’s magnetic field. The above site monitors the so-called Kp-index. This index denotes the coefficient of the strength of magnetic waves, something like points on the Richter Scale for an earthquake, in other words, the Kp-index is the global planetary index of geomagnetic activity. The Kp index ranges from 0 to 9, where a value of 0 means no geomagnetic activity and a value of 9 means an extreme geomagnetic storm.
Here is superficially and figured out. When does the Northern Lights appear? – when the Kp-index tends to 9. And then we will consider the chances of the appearance of the Northern Lights.
What is the chance of seeing the Northern Lights?
This is the most important question in this article. The answer lies on the same aforementioned site , it refers to resources showing forecasts for 27 days , as well as for 3 days (hourly) . These forecasts indicate the Kp-index for a particular date. You can independently calculate when the probability of the appearance of the Northern Lights is highest. But don’t forget – the ability to enjoy the Northern Lights depends on a large number of local factors, such as weather, etc.
As a reminder, you can catch the Northern Lights with our company BARENS, right from your hotel. Contact us at the link .
This article does not claim to be a scientific work. Information for your reference looking for travelers’ answers.