Quoting Nickie76:
North pole ,Canada , Alaska
7) Where is the best place to see aurora? And what time is best? |
The best places are high northern latitudes during the winter, Alaska, Canada, and Skandinavia.
To see aurora you need clear and dark sky. During very large auroral events, the aurora may be seen throughout the US and Europe, but these events are rare. During an extreme event in 1958, aurora was reported to be seen from Mexico City. During average activity levels, auroral displays will be overhead at high northern or southern latitudes. Places like Fairbanks, Alaska, Dawson City, Yukon, Yellowknife, NWT, Gillam, Manitoba, the southern tip of Greenland, Reykjavik, Iceland, Tromso, Norway, and the northern coast of Siberia have a good chance to have the aurora overhead. In North Dakota, Michigan, Quebec, and central Scandinavia, you might be able to see aurora on the northern horizon when activity picks up a little. On the southern hemisphere the aurora has to be fairly active before it can be seen from places other than Antarctica. Hobart, Tasmania, and the southern tip of New Zealand have about the same chance of seeing aurora as Vancouver, BC, South Dakota, Michigan, Scotland, or St Petersburg. Fairly strong auroral activity is required for that. The best time to watch for aurora is around midnight, but aurora occurs throughout the night. There are very few places on Earth where one can see aurora during the day. Svalbard (Spitzbergen) is ideally located for this. For a 10 week period around winter solstice it is dark enough during the day to see aurora, and the latitude is such that near local noon the auroral oval is usually overhead. Since clear sky and darkness are essential to see aurora, the best time is dictated by the weather, and by the sun rise and set times. The moon is also very bright, and should be taken into account when deciding on a period to travel for the purpose of auroral observation. You might see aurora from dusk to dawn throughout the night. The chances are higher for the 3 or 4 hours around midnight. Links for further and more detailed information: |
I have seen a little when I was visiting the Upper Penninsula of Michigan before. Not too clearly though, it was a greenish glow in the sky. Pretty, but not like the best pictures you see with the swirls of green and purple. You would probably have to be in Alaska to see it that clearly.
Is it just me, or... ?
- MammaPaparazza
on Sep. 9, 2012 at 1:19 PM