Allure of the Northern Lights

 I know the Northern Lights are something we talk about more in the winter, but I'm bringing back an old favorite from my grad school days (and you can read this any time of year - save the video for November or December if you want motivation to love the world again when it gets cold out).

Also known as Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights are a weather phenomena that have fascinated people around the world for centuries.  The colors that appear to magically dance through the night sky are quite literally what dreams are made of.  It's so magical, it's hard to imagine they're real.

Although I like to look at weather and nature from a scientific perspective, there are a lot of myths about the origin of the lights - especially among native cultures.  One ancient legend says that the lights are formed by a fox who runs across the Arctic and sends sparks up into the sky with his tail.  The Inuit of Alaska believe the lights are the spirits of the animals they hunt.  The Maori of New Zealand believed the (Southern) lights were deflections from torches and campfires of other civilizations.

photo taken from nexttriptourism.com

The video I shared above is from Finland, but if you Google "the Northern Lights," a lot of what you'll find will be from Norway.  Tromso is a city just above the Arctic Circle that celebrates with a Northern Lights Festival every year from the end of January through early February.  Justlanded.com says "The festival features opera, jazz, chamber music, audiovisual art, symphonic concerts, choir, and dance all while watching the sky light up with different colors."  If you've read my post on surviving winter with a positive attitude, you'll know I already think Tromso's got this whole "winter" thing down... so it makes sense they'd also be the ones to take the lead on making a big deal out of Aurora Borealis.

If you're on a budget (or hate flying), you don't have to go to Norway or Finland to catch a glimpse of the elusive lights.  Visittheusa.com says the top 5 places to see them, in the US are:

1. Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska
2. Idaho Panhandle National Forest
3. Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge in Maine
4. Cook County Minnesota
5. Michigan's Upper Peninsula

photo by Travis Novitsky

The Northern Lights are seen best closer to magnetic north under clear skies with low light pollution, but they have been observed as far south as New Orleans and Mexico in the past.  The chemical reactions that cause the lights can actually happen any time of day (or year), but we only see them at night.  The northern hemisphere gets more sunlight in the summer, so that's why we think of them as a winter phenomena.

I've never seen them myself, but it's definitely on my bucket list!  How about you?