Aurora Borealis
 

Hi

I'm heading over to Europe in December and thinking I have never seen AB but it's on my must see things. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to stay, as I understand you need at least 4 nights to see it.

Thanks

AB (aka Northern Lights)
 

Tromso in Northern Norway has a good reputation as a base for seeing the Lights. Both Thon & SAS hotel chains have hotels there. The best viewing point is at the top of the cable car at midnight.

Just remember that the Lights are not guaranteed to be visible on any particular night. You may like to consider doing a round trip on the Hurtigruten (Norwegian Coastal Voyage) from Bergen to Kirkenes & back. It's a 12 day trip & most of the time you're above the Arctic Circle which improves your chances. Plus you can book a phone call with Reception to ring you at night if the Lights appear after you have gone to bed.
Definitely the most civilised way to approach the problem.

Good luck

Dave

I've been to Lapland for a week just about every winter the last ten years. Only once did I see truly spectacular Northern Lights.

Thanks for the advice. I might look into Tromso. A 12 night cruise is a bit longer than I was planning on spending, I really won't have the time for that. Is there any sort of forecasting that is available? As I understand it is quite reliant on the Sun.

If you are willing to crunch some numbers, NOAA has quite a bit of information here:

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/Aurora/index.html

I'd also like to recommend Abisko as a good viewing spot. Due to local geography, the weather is often clear there:

http://www.abisko.nu/vinter/englishpages/index.asp

Finland has an aurora forecast service: http://aurora.fmi.fi/public_service/

But I have to emphasize that seeing the Northern Lights is really hit and miss. Not only do they show up pretty much randomly, but they're high above the clouds, so even if there's activity you won't see a thing unless the skies are clear.

Thanks lnixon and jpatokal.

I realise that there is only a chance that I will actually get to see them, but I have always wanted to since I was a kid. So it's worth it, to me anyway!

lnixon, Abisco doesn't look to bad. Do you know if the skiing is any good there?

I'm not a downhill skier, but there are several ski resorts along Lake Torneträsk, and I think you can get day passes on the train/bus. See e.g.

http://www.stromma.se/en/Riksgransen/

http://bjorkliden.se/?q=node/8

Some of the tourgroups that run AB viewing tours out of Reykjavik offer a free repeat trip if there's no sighting.

What about Svalbard? It's well connected to Tromso with flights, for a place so isolated, but in that sense it'd be interesting to visit I've always thought...

I have seen it once during a one week stay during September, in Abisko.

I saw that, I guess it would be pretty cool to take a flight to Svalbard just to say I went to Svalbard.

I've booked 4 nights in Tromso, including NYE. Hopefully nature will put on its own fireworks!

Problem is, in December it'll be the polar night up there, with no sunlight at all, and even more freezing cold than usual. I suppose this would increase your aurora-spotting odds a bit, but it would be a bit of drag for trying to do anything else...

There's no guarantee - I would not necessarily count on 4 nights. I have seen the repeatedly in Iceland.

The University of Alaska also has an aurora forecast: http://www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast

Unfortunately for aurora fans, it looks like we're headed for a long period of minimal solar activity: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-0...-activity.html