The northern lights are amazing but what you see on a picture isn't the same like what you see with the naked eye. This video gives an explanation about the four stages you can experience seeing the aurora borealis.
I went to Iceland last year and missed it, I stayed with a friend and we went out to see it but no luck. But, of course the day I go home the lights were out in force and I missed it.
@@sp33d90 but how come it happens when there's no sun in both poles? I suspect the sun is behind this phenomenon it could be the magnetic charges but definitely has nothing to do with the sun and certainly has many things to do with magnetic, air pressure and ice.
When I flew from Canada back to Europe I flew right through the Northen Lights. We were flighing at night. I was almost asleep but woke up because I saw some green lights. To my surprise it were the real Northern Lights. Suddenly all the passengers were awake & enjoyed this 'show'. I went for 6months to Canada (close to the border of Alaska) but never actually saw the Northern Lights. This was the best flight ever. 🙀😻 🌌
It is sped up because it is not a video. 99% of the people make timelapses and not a video. You need a very very very expensive camera to make a video of the northernlights.
I can confirm all of this as well. I went to Iceland about a year ago with the sole purpose of seeing the Northern Lights and didn't know what to expect. When the display is weak, it is underwhelming and you're straining to distinguish between whether it's a cloud or the Aurora Borealis. However, as he describes, when it's a strong display and you get lucky, there's no mistaking it. It's truly breathtaking and bright, with the Aurora quite literally dancing above you. 10/10 highly recommend...and if you're reading this with plans to go on a similar adventure, please dress super warm. You're going to be out in the arctic night for hours most likely.
@@analourenco5739 The trip I'm referring to in the comment was 9 days and I saw them once, but the show was super intense (rare experience). As I recall I didn't try to go out every night and search for them during that trip though...which is what you need to be doing. I did just finish another Iceland adventure a few days ago. This time the trip was 2 weeks and I saw the lights 5 times. 3 of those weren't very powerful displays and didn't last very long...like I could see them but they were faint and the lights weren't "dancing" a whole lot. The other two were pretty strong displays and lasted for hours, really cool to see but still nothing as intense as my first experience. There aren't any guarantees at all no matter how long you go, but your statistical likelihood of seeing them is certainly higher if you're trying for longer. I recommend minimum 5 days, but ideally 1.5 to 2 weeks. If you're there for 2 weeks and constantly trying to go out when the forecast is looking good and you still don't see them...you've gotten incredibly unlucky. A really strong display I think is pretty rare so I wouldn't get your hopes up too much for something super intense...you may go and see them like I did quite a few times but none are crazy bright or fast. It's still really cool even if you don't get that experience. Remember: Dark skies (away from big city lights), clear skies or partly cloudy (if the forecast shows cloud cover everywhere you won't see them), kp index 2 and up, ideally during New Moon (no moon visible in the sky), enough hours of darkness (sometime in April is the cutoff for Northern Lights viewing), check the auroral oval to see when it's over you, and have patience and dress warm!
@@jeremylevy7801 Yeah man. I’m definitely going out every night just to see if I get lucky, crossing my fingers that I could catch it cause the weather forecast seems shaky for the time I’ll be there from what I seen (usually cloudy with light rain or snow) but then again from what I’ve read weather in Iceland can be quite unpredictable so we’ll see. I hope I’m lucky lmao
I love watching the Aurora’s. I live interior Alaska, and I see them all the time. It’s amazing how cool they look when they dance across the night sky.
@@glennlavalle9807 all the time?? I’m in jersey and had no idea it was common in the US at all. We’re they pretty crazy yesterday? Apparently I might be able to see them slightly here
as a kid in the faroe islands i witnessed the northern lights at an extreme, it was late in fall and it had gotten to the colder point of the year, the entire sky was alive, it was like a Raging ocean of polychromatic lights more colorful than a rainbow and brighter than a full moon! it looked so apocalyptic we were in awe and legitimately afraid. i have not seen it like that ever since and this was about 15-20 years ago
I saw them in Banff, Canada, in may 2017 and it WAS EXACTLY as in the pictures. The sky was totally green. I think it was one of the strongest solar storm in the last 10 years, stage 5. I cried like a baby because I had never seen anything more spectacular than that.
That’s incredible! Were the lights above you or were they out to the north? I’ve been researching bad for Banff to try to find out more information about viewing the northern lights from there but it’s hard to find information. Most of the pictures look like the lights are off to the north in the distance but still really beautiful!!
I just saw the northern lights for the first time on my grandparents farm. It was insanely beautiful, even if it just lasted for a few minutes and wasn’t the strongest. My Grandma just passed away, and today is the last night staying with the family I flew up to visit. We think that the lights were her, in one way or another♥️
I have been in Iceland last September and got to watch the Northern Lights. After 10 years of dreaming to see the lights, I was disappointed beyond belief, its almost as if my heart was crushed. There was a whitish grey haze like a cloud stretching across the sky, which was stunning in the pictures with long exposure. But the second day, there was a powerful solar storm (Kp>5) and there was a good show with mild greenish white, purple lights dancing across the sky. Yes that was beautiful and I was awestruck, but still cant compare with the pictures. So go with moderate expectations, hoping for a good solar storm, else prepare for a white haze. Also, some people's eyes are real sensitive to colors, they can see them a bit brighter than others. Anyway am a happy man! Tip: Try not looking into your mobile phones or other artificial light sources for sometime as the eyes need to adjust to the darkness to see the northern light colors more vividly.
Back in August 1966, my mother woke my brother and I from a sound sleep around 2 am. She wanted to show us something incredible. We trailed after her outside to see what had her all excited. When we arrived in our backyard, we looked up. It was like we were in a giant cathedral with drapes and streamers of light flickering from thousands of feet high. Above the mountains surrounding our valley, more curtains of light snapped and rippled. The lights were mostly greenish but there some faint signs of magenta as well. It was a sight that I have never forgotten.
My friend and I went to Iceland in 2015 and we had the best show of them ever ....it lasted for hours and they danced all through the sky . .....we even saw the corona that night . We had been taken out by a tour company and given hot chocolate as it was freezing but perfect conditions . The tour guide said it was the best show of them in quite a while . I must admit I did get very emotional as we had tried the night before but it was too cloudy to see anything. So the next morning the skies were blue , not a cloud anywhere and it was bitter cold so I knew we had a good chance in seeing them. And we were not disappointed ..they were so good that even when we were heading back into Reykjavik amongst the city lights , we could still see them. The tour company took photos of us with the lights and emailed us a copy , I'll treasure that moment forever .
Thank you for this! Every time I've tried to look for what the Northern Lights look like on RU-vid, it's a timelapse. I wanted to know what they look like when you're actually standing there looking at them. I appreciate you breaking this down into the actual experience and stages.
I've had the privilege of seeing some amazing northern lights. Way in northern Minnesota on the Canadian border, they were green and blue and white and yellow. Swirling around and dancing in the sky. I was in the boundary waters canoe area. We were doing some nighttime canoeing. It was something I'll remember for the rest of my life! Incredibly mesmerizing.
Thank you for breaking it down! I saw a stage 1 in Maryland close to a year ago. It was grey and looked like a haze but I could see these weird slow wavy movements sway here and there. It was amazing. It could've been a higher stage and I just couldn't see the color. But I definitely could see what looked like wispy clouds swaying back and forth 😯❤️
Living in North sweden and I have probably seen the Northern lights a thousands of times. Still it sometimes can make me amazed with shapes, speed and colours. Many even among us that lives up here doesn't know that it makes a sound. You have to be very far away from civilization and without disturbing sounds to hear it. It is many years since I heard it now even thou I live 17km away from a city and that is because I live by the river and the rapids water sound. I have made some time lapses from my property.
Thanks for sharing your experience. This March I went to Tromso in Norway and I saw the Northern lights, it was amazing, almost like a religious experience. I remeber I heard somthing but I was not sure, now I know what I heard is real.
@@chomtso this Saturday we were up at North Cape in Norway, my wife have not been there before so she had it on her bucket list but I was there in 2012. Anyway... Back home it had been a huge northern light....up there in North Cape I didn't see anything of it when I was out walking the dogs at night. seems like one can be to far north sometimes. :)
Last week, I saw the best northern lights of my life in central MN (just an hour north of Minneapolis). They were easily stage 4 described in this video. However, instead of undulating ribbons of light, the sky was like a concert, with pink strobes covering the whole sky. The reds were also the deepest reds I’ve seen, easily visible to my naked eye. The storm that caused this amazing show ranked as a G4 (kp8) severe geomagnetic storm, the strongest storm since 2017. Even still, I didn’t expect to see such a surreal show this far south.
It's nice tio meet you, friend. Thank you so much for sharing! I've seen the first stage but had not gotten to see the whole show yet! It is amazing to watch in your video. Thank you for explaining the different stages. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Very helpful! Some videos I have seen were obvious timelapses, but others made me wonder whether this was something that really "danced" in real-time before one's naked eye. Now I see that it can range from just "wispy slightly luminous 'clouds'" all the way to dancing streams that are readily seen.
I went to Fairbanks Alaska four years ago, and I experienced level one. I was a little disappointed because it was not what I expected, but honestly this video gave me hope to try again and hopefully be able to experience level four someday :)
Very informative! I didn't know that. I've seen them once as a teen in Quebec. Around the fire at camp and out of nowhere it was like the sky exploded into a giant red wave. Got so lucky because it wasn't off in the distance or anything, in the gap of trees that was our camp site it took up the whole sky right above my head. Lasted a few minutes and then disappeared. Greatest moment of my life!
I’ve been very fortunate to have seen the Northern Lights in both Tromsø and Iceland. But I am very aware of how lucky I am because they are such fickle things! My recommendation for anyone planning a trip to see the Northern Lights is to make sure your trip is not all about seeing the Northern Lights. Go somewhere where there are other things to do and see. Because then if you go all that way and don’t see them, you’ll still have had a great trip. Think of the Northern Lights as a bonus to your holiday.
Thank you for the explanation of how to view the Northern Lights. I saw it on a flight from Los Angeles to London when I was very young. It was amazing.
When I was seven, my family vacationed at Four Winds Resort in Marquette, Michigan U.S. The second night we were there we could fully see the Milky Way. The next night an Aurora appeared. 1977 turned out to be a record year for the distance south it appeared. I think I heard in 2023, the Aurora Borealis will be seen in the Northern U.S again as well as parts of England and Germany, and Mongolia and Northern China.
They can be seen in Minnesota,. Wisconsin, Michigan and others still. True they're not as often as they were a few years ago, but I have seen them several times just an hour north of Minneapolis.
Last night was absolutely incredible in northern Minnesota. I've heard many saying it was the best show in decades. It lasted for hours, dancing green and purple curtains and pillars brilliantly visible to the naked eye from the horizon all the way to directly overhead. Happened to be a clear, cold, still night with virtually no moon, yet it was almost as bright out as being underneath a full moon. I'm only about 8 hours from it right now and it's a night I'll never forget.
Hi it's 2023 now and let me tell you, last Sunday there was a spectacular Northern Lights show in the U.S but I'm just so unlucky that clouds covered our view.
I spent a month in Norway driving from Oslo to Bergen and then Lofoten. It’s very different to how it’s projected on Instagram and social media. It really was a big disappointment, especially Lofoten. I found the weather to be very oppressive and the scenery although dramatic, quite bleak and dark....I couldn’t wait to leave after a month. Plus the cost of everything is crazy. I then spent a month in Sweden, in the time I was in the Arctic circle I didn’t see the northern lights once.
Large thank you for providing category in respect to northern light intensity, its something ive been wanting to do for a while, but now i will not bother. My favorites are ofcourse three and four.
live in southern vermont usa, about 12 years ago, i got too see an explosive show, red overhead with spokes like on a wheel, was truly awesome, seen a lot of northern lights up here in last 24 years, but mostly weaker displays, the one that was red was seen as far south as texas, !! clear skies:), p.s , it takes a lot of time and patience when trying too see the northern lights, years too finally see that big one!!
I saw them like that where I live (Northern USA) in 2001. Never seen anything like it before or since. Went to Alaska for a week a few years ago, expecting something like what I saw in 2001 and saw NOTHING.
I remember in 2001 or 02 seeing them in Northern MD near the PA border. There were red, green and white streaks and curtains in the Northern sky. Must have been a strong solar event to have seen them that far South.
Jeez, maybe it was that storm in 2000 or 2001, lol time goes by fast the older I get, it only lasted for about 10 to 20 minutes of the explosive part of that night, and I read that people seen it as far south as Texas, I'm sure I've missed some really cool ones in the last almost 26 years I've been in vt, but like black bear's, I see they are around my house on a regular basis but never seen one yet !! Lol, it's the same with the northern lights I think, you have too be lucky enough just to have been looking that way at what might only be really visible for a very short period of time 🤔
I have seen spectacular Northern Lights in the sky over a small Northern Pennsylvania, US town one cold, clear November night. Being that the light had travelled so far South, we could only see what appeared to be sheer, red curtains wafting in the breeze. They were everywhere, all over the sky, and lasted for a long time. It was a spellbinding display; one I’ll not ever forget. I’d love to travel to Norway someday, and see the Aurora in its green & purple colour phases.
This was so helpful!! I took some photos in the upper peninsula of Michigan tonight because we got a “Geo storm warning”…I got so excited (FL girl) and my photos looked like them but I didn’t see the same thing. Of course I was expecting the green and purple crazy sky but I’m glad I did actually see them thanks to your explanation
Way down in New England we had a magenta pink sky very vivid auroras lasted for an hour, we all stood outside watching it not realizing it was x ray radiation! Fifteen minutes later we all had a bad headache and side effects from THE CME that caused the beautiful sky 18 years ago.
I have seen them many times from Quebec and Ontario Canada. Most often the looked like gray, thin clouds that would seem to appear and then just fade away. In fact, the first few times I saw them, I didn't think that's what they were, but thought it was very strange behavior for "clouds". It wasn't until on one occasion the gray "clouds" turned shades of green and began moving that I realized I had been seeing the northern lights all those times.
I have been fortunate enough to see all 4 stages. Stages 1 to 3 Ive seen quite a few times, but stage 4, just once. It was around 2am and I was looking out because I got an aurora watch notification. I went out my deck and there it was, beautiful dancing above my head, looked like a dragon dancing in the sky. I ran inside to wake my husband up, i felt like a child on Christmas morning. I still remember the date May 28, 2017. This was in Southern Canada.
two days ago i had the exact same experience; you described mine perfectly....at first i wasnt sure if i was looking at cloud coverage or the dust from the lights...but if you turned around, and looked south, i was easy to tell you were looking at the dust - because there were no clouds in teh sky for miles!!!! we were on top of the cruise ship deck, looking into what could only be described as "a blurry window, out of earth into space." it was not much longer after that first wtf is this cloud moment, we saw the other stages develop......light takes 8 mins to go from sun to earth you have to watch for a good hour to see as much as you can.....we saw light coming up from behind the mountains, some in streaks, some in paintbrush looking strokes, some in l-r waves, and then the dancing above you was insane.....great video to sum up the exact feelings the 4 of us lucky ones had at 2 am lol
I totally agree with you!! It was disappointed twice . I saw northern lights but I was expecting things like they show in pictures ... But it is always a light cloud. But sometimes it can be very intense as well. Very lucky you saw them
I live in canada and it is beautiful. You can whistle at while the northern lights and it will come down towards you literally. I was told growing up not to disturb them very much.
I would one day love to travel north to see a good view of the northern lights. I've seen them on occasion here in Minnesota but they can only be seen horizontally.
Some 30 years ago I saw aurora borealis in Somerset, UK. There were reports the next day of how they had been most visible in Cornwall. I did not know to begin with what I was seeing and it was quite unnerving but hypnotic. Toweringly tall purple curtains were just wafting, as if slo-mo, in the dark sky for a few minutes. Astonishing and beautiful and very memorable.
hi Jan thanks for showing this video because I was going to plan to visit Norway to try hard because that is not easy for me to travel too expansive tour .... there is no values of money against life nature and time... internet and TV shows different if I came and looking around sky that may be heartbroken to me but when they got pics like coloured sky
I just seen the northern lights just now! I was disappointed at first because you can’t see it on naked eye then as we are on our way home the northern lights showed as what we see in the videos!! I was stunned! It was so amazing!
We had the same experienced when we didn't see them at first but decided to take a photo. After when we looked through pics in our camera, to our surprise it captured the aurora when the naked eye couldn't see them. But as time passed by, we saw them with our eyes.
I went to Rovaniemi, Finland to see the aurora and I kept being told I wouldn't really he able to see them with my naked eyes or probably even my phone's camera (if they appeared at all. It was cloudy at the first place we stopped at) When we tried our last stop, everyone else was busy with their fancy cameras and I was just staring at the sky -hoping.- I saw these little white wisps at first and I honestly figured it was smoke from the campfire, but then off to the right theu started kicking up and while they were the big wide bands that cross the whole sky, they were visible enough for all of us to absolutely freak out, and I got phone pictures without too much issueaside from the general phones-hate-space-pictures issue.
Well, watching Aurora is really a matter of luck. I went to Yellowknife of Canada in December 2017 to watch it. It was damn good as the dancing Aurora with numerous colours, according to the guide, was the most intensive one the guide had ever seen. That trip took me 5 nights staying in the small town, but only the 3rd night had such an amazing display, all other nights were only a thin shade of green in the sky
Hi ! I have just returned from a 9 days trip to Tomsø and I totally agree with you ! However, although there is a big difference between my photos and what I really saw with the naked eye, what I saw was absolutely amazing, fabulous (level 3 in your classification) during a very dark and cold night in the Lyngen Alps.
I lived in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada for several years. Northern Lights visible there frequently. You don't have to go to Norway or somewhere in the Arctic to see them.
This is so true. I went to Iceland to see the northern lights and was not prepared for this. What I saw with my eyes was barely visible but through my camera they looked awesome. It was still a fantastic experience but nothing like the photos you see online
Kameko Miyamora for that money u can book a flight ticket to russia and u can see it from murmansk nd u can join in tour group or u can see it by yourself nd it will b a great trip tooo .... im sure it will cost u within 2 k dollar
Saw them on a nighttime ferry ride from Juneau to Sitka way back in 1983. About 10 pm someone yelled out "The lights are out, the lights are out!" Everyone ran to the top deck and for the next 2 hours we all watched, completely captivated! They changed intensity and size as our ferry changed its direction according to our course. It was the highlight of my first trip to Alaska. (This was in late September btw.)
Thank you so much for your video. We are in Narvik and already gave up the idea of seeing the Northern Lights. When we went out with our dogs at 22:00, we saw the grey stripes that transformed into solid green - only because of your video, we were aware what the grey strips were.
We lived in Fairbanks Alaska for almost 15 years and the Aurora has a cycle of 11 years. During the on years they would be bright and green over our house. On the off years there were none.
THANK YOU. You are 100% correct! A camera can catch a show that your eye can't really see. What is a light gray "cloud" to your eye becomes a green sky to your camera. GREAT INFORMATION!!! We are going to Alaska next month to try to see a bigger and better show! (The best so far have been in Alta, Norway, and Tromsø, Norway.). :-)
Good video for those who have not seen them yet. It's true that they are not like in pictures, but in my opinion, they are more cool in naked eye. It's allways amazing experience when the lights appear, you never know how they move or how bright they will be. It's exiting. I live in southern finland and have seen the lights about 20 times in a year. They are not so cool here in the south but still nice. Still havent seen them on top of my head. Hopefully soon in future.
very accurate - excellent video, photo, visual and descriptive points! as with everything astronomical, there are better nights and conditions for seeing than others. i was fortunate enough to be stationed in keflavik iceland for the winter, and we were spoiled by incedible displays, but not every night, and i'm sure we missed many awesome displays due to weather. but that one or two experiences of the 'stage 4' aurora as you describe, makes the journey and experience well worth it! great video!
@@justleslie8609 Here's a particularly strong one seen from the Faroe Islands, recorded in real time video. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xnSRW5WKI6I.html It is far below the Arctic circle. The main reason it usually cannot be seen there is all the clouds.
Very true!!!! But it's an out of the world experience to watch with your naked eye. I visited Tromso in the month of February.. It was just a 3 day schedule but we were were lucky enough to get to see the lights within 30 minutes of our arrival to the camp. It was just mind blowing. And with a bonus of moon rise after an hr just speechless.Nature has so much within!!!!!
@@snehaacharya8021 no idea how to send pictures via RU-vid 😜 but if I could í would although they are only taken with my phone, they are still worth seeing
Thank you! I went to see the Northern Lights about 10 years ago and only saw grey clouds dancing in the sky but took spectacular pictures with my camera. I came home and researched on the internet if you could see colors with the naked eye! If so, I would try to see them again. If not, then I saw what I could.
Usually it happens when it's dark enough to see it. As early as late august. And it happens alot. It starts of as a haze. And that's the solar storm itself. Then that collides with the upper atmosphere and the colors explode
They happen most often every 11 years. When the Sun hits solar Maximum, we are heading into the next Solar Maximum so the next 2-3 years should be good! I live in Canada and see them all the time. But always lots more when we are in solar max
Thank you sooo much for doing this. I live in Indiana ...no lights at all. Anything that shows up on your videos is more than I have. Thank you for taking your time out of your life to do this for us. Thank you! 🥳
I feel so very blessed to have seen every type of Northern light one could EVER see...I ve seen all the swirls and dancing ,I ve had them create a cathedral of shandalere shards in a complete circle around where I stood they came down to literaly the tops of the trees and whistles and snapped and popped like a musical radio static ...and I've seen popsicle fucsia pink lights ...I ve seen them Sian the entire sky Scape of a valley I lived in creating I swear to god a grid of light seriously like a net across the valley and it went for miles as we drove just vefir mount Robsin right into the Robsin valley that dunster and McBride reside ...very SERIEL... I genuinely felt as thou I had a personal relationship with them... I recall Calli g a friend once when they created a full circle like a cathedral arou d where I stood and danced down to the tree tops and were singing ...it terrified my friend she could not be there with me and literally drove away ,went home and inside??? I could not understand it ...I haven't witnessed them in such majesty for many years now..people say you have to be out of city limits ,not true atall ..for many of my mom at spectacular events I was in town in Prince George B.C ...I can't believe so many folks have never seen them ...I ve also just learnt they tend to come around in seven year intervals . I had taken it personally when I hadn't seen them for years...✨💓✨
The most beautiful Northern Lights I have seen is when I was traveling in Arctic Sweden in 2018 summer. There is even no actual nights in summer Arctic. I watched the northern light in the time call Nautical Twilight. During nautical twilight there is still some sunlight in the sky. But the northern light is just so bright so we can see them dancing in the sky even with little sunlight. Even an outdated mobile phone camera can take pictures of these northern lights. Sadly I forgot to bring my SONY camera to take better quality pictures. It is still really amazing and I won't forget the view in my life.
Depending on the solar wind is the difference of intensity as well. Sometimes when the conditions are right you really do see that really bright green, pinks, and purples with the naked eye. I've lived in Northern Alberta for years now, and it's still so beautiful I get tears in my eyes! Lol
Yes, Good storms can bring in moderate greenish purple/white curtains of light, but do not expect them be the same as in pictures or videos. Our eyes are not evolved to see colors vividly at night, so always go with moderate expectations, and if the solar storm is low, you can expect to see a greyish white haze across the sky which will ofcourse be stunning in pictures with long exposure.
@@glennlavalle9807 I'm still kicking myself for not taking the trip from when I lived up Bar HARBOR and now I don't think I will ever get that chance again I could cry , mother nature and our earth is going through so much and who knows what will be next that we start to loose ,just look at the ice glacers the 1 that broke off and was headed for land...wow was that à hard wait to see what direction it was going to take...
Thank you Jan for such a great video and explanation! I really appreciate it very much. I saw some live cam video of Northern Lights and it was like basically kind of a gray sky with just a hint of a little bit of green and that was it and you'd have to really Photoshop it to really get the bright green that you see in pictures. thanks very much for showing us the 4 stages, I had no idea that there was such a thing! What time of night does the 4th stage happen? Is it like 4 a.m. or something or like around what time of night is the 4th stage? Just wondering.
