Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) in Iceland with Nature Explorer

The Northern Lights exist in the outmost layer of the atmosphere. They are created by electrically charged particles that make the thin air shine, not unlike a fluorescent light. They can be seen in auroral belts that forms 20-25 degrees around the geomagnetic poles, both the north and the south. The Northern Lights are also called Aurora Borealis. Named after the Roman Godess of the dawn, Aurora, and the Greek name for the north wind, Boreas.They are one of the most spectacular shows on this earth and can frequently be seen in Iceland from September through April on clear and crisp nights. Away from the glow of the city, we hunt for the elusive Northern Lights but please note that the Northern Lights are a natural phenomenon and sightings can not be guaranteed. Photographing the Northern Lights is a worthy task best taken in winter. (In the summer there is daylight all day and all night and no Northern Lights – which creates a whole other dimension of great photo safaris. Take a glance at our ideas on the left menu)

The Northern Lights occur high above the surface of the earth where the atmosphere has become extremely thin, in an altitude of 100-250km. The source of the auroras are tiny particles, protons and electrons caused by electronic storms on the sun (solar wind) that are trapped in the earth's magnetic field and the begin to spiral back and forth in a circle around the magnetic pole. While dancing around endlessly in their magnetic trap, some particles escape into the earth's atmosphere. They hit molecules in the atmosphere which cause the molecules to glow, thus creating the auroras.

The following link  http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/20011025aurora.html provides great pictures from space of the poles and the auroras around them.

White and green are usually the dominant colores but sometimes there are considerable colour variations, as the pressure and composition of the atmosphere varies at different altitudes. At extremely high altitudes where the pressure is low, there tends to be a reddish glow produced by oxygen molecules when they are struck by the tiny particles of the solar wind. At lower altitudes, where there is higher pressure, their impact-irritated oxygen molecules may glow with a greenish tinge and sometimes there is a reddish lower border created by particles colliding with nitrogen molecules in the immediate vicinity. 

 

If your group is serious about photograping the Northern lights, why not consider Iceland and have us help you plan an exciding adventure. Please do not hesitate to contact us on info@NatureExplorer.is. Please include information on the size of your group and proposed length of stay.

There are quite a few Icelandic photographers who have taken great photos of the Northern Lights and you can see some of their work on the following links:
http://www.photography.is/What_is_he_to_now/North-light/Chasing_the_aurora.html 
http://www.iww.is/art/shs/pages/page1.html
http://www.arctic-images.com/Northern_Lights/Northern_Lights.html

Other interesting Northern Lights links:
http://eiger.physics.uiowa.edu/%7Evis/conjugate_aurora/
http://sec.noaa.gov/pmap/

Itinerary

Northern Lights photos

Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) outside of Reykjavik, Iceland

Green is the most common colour of the auroras

Northern Lights above our Super-Jeep

We used a diffused flash to paint the Super-Jeep with light and a long exposure for the sky

Nature Explorer Super-Jeep under the auroras outside of Reykjavik

Photograph the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) with Nature Explorer, Iceland