Northern Lights

Now for the science bit. The light is caused by an interaction between the Earth's magnetic field and the solar wind. When tiny particles coming from the sun are carried by the solar wind to meet the Earth's upper atmosphere and the orientation of the magnetic fields are correctly orientated (primarily southward), then the energy generated by the collisions creates the lights which appear either as a diffuse glow or as "curtains" that tend to extend in the east-west direction following the Earth's magnetic field lines.

The lights seen tend to primarily be green but some may appear as lightly pink to red, or even blue and violet, depending on the chemical elements involved. Very rarely you may see orange flares with rippled edges.

Whatever the scientific cause, the effect is breathtaking, mysterious and awe-inspiring. It is no wonder that folklore from around the world is full of wild and wonderful explanations for the phenomenon. In ancient Norway it was said the Northern Lights were the lights flashing off the shields and spears of the Valkyrie, warlike virgins, as they galloped away on their horses.

The lights show between the months of October and March, but are at their most frequent in October and February - March. The highest northern lights frequency is between 6 pm and 1 am. Don't worry if you are planning on being on board a Hurtigruten ship as you can arrange to be woken up to see the lights if they appear late at night.

In order to get full value from the show you should avoid the full moon and places with a lot of light as they make the experience considerably paler. Also remember to wrap up warmly.

To photograph the Northern Lights you need an SLR (single lens reflex) camera with adjustable settings and a tripod. You to leave the shutter open for long enough to capture the lights (anything up to 15 seconds). Sorry, standard video cam corders usually do not manage to record the Lights!

Theoretically, you can see the northern lights all over Norway. However, the best places are above the Arctic Circle in northern Norway and Lapland. The town of Alta is renowned for its sightings of the Northern Lights and was home to the first ever Northern Lights Observatory.

Joanna Lumley, the actress from the BBC series "Absolutely Fabulous", had dreamt of seeing the Northern Lights since she was a child. And finally she got to live out her dream. In a splendid BBC film, she travels accross Norway in search for the aurora borealis. For Joanna, as for many others who get to experience the illusive lights, it was an altogether emotional experience. See the short timelapse Northern Lights video (above) from National Geographic recorded over the course of one night in northern Norway to preview the stunning phenomenon.

Project Travel is happy to adapt any of the following outline packages to suit your individual needs. All our packagaes are suitable for either solo travellers, two or more people.

NORTHERN LIGHTS QUEST 4 nights from €1545	NORTHERN LIGHTS ARCTIC HIGHLIGHTS VOYAGE 5 nights from €1395

Credit: Bard Loken/Innovation Norway

You might well see the Northern Lights above the Arctic Circle while on a Classic Norwegian Coastal Voyage during the winter months or on one of our Arctic Adventure land-based holidays.