The Northern Lights are a common experience in the skies above Norway, but this display at the very beginning of the season was otherworldly.
Greetings from Hurtigruten's Svalbard Line on the MS Trollfjord! It's still early in the season for northern lights, but last night we were treated to one of the best aurora displays I've experienced in ten years.
It was actually the third consecutive night the aurora had come out to play as we sail ever northwards. Reading NRK this morning, it seems the whole of Norway was treated to a show, and aurora sightings were reported as far south as England.
The northern lights, or aurora borealis, occur when solar wind particles collide with Earth's magnetic field, exciting atmospheric gases, which emit colourful light displays primarily near the northern polar region. Read more about what causes the northern lights.
Aurora Sightings at Sea
Regular readers will know I spend a lot of time on ships, especially in the Arctic region. Whatever the time of year, it's one of the best ways to see the spectacular Norwegian coastline.
At certain times of the year, being on a ship is also one of the very best ways to see the northern lights. Movement makes photography a challenge, but the lack of artificial light is hard to beat to appreciate the natural spectacle with the naked eye.
Svalbard Line in September
I'm on a trip from Bergen to Longyearbyen, Svalbard. Hurtigruten's Svalbard Line operates in the summer and, as I write this, I'm on the final voyage of the year.
The northern lights are not discussed in the marketing of this voyage at all, but as we're into September I knew there would be a chance of seeing at least something.
We'd already had a reasonable display as we sailed through the Tjelsundet, and then the following evening as we left Tromsø and sailed through the Lyngen region. But things really got going on the evening of 12 September.
Leaving the North Cape
The evening's light show actually began as we left Honningsvåg and rounded Magerøya Island to see the North Cape from the sea.
The last few times I've done this voyage the famous cliff was shrouded in fog. Not this time! Many of the crew said this was the best light they'd ever seen when sailing past Nordkapp.
It was only a few hours after leaving the coastline and turning northward that we first saw the northern lights. It wasn't even dark yet, so the lights must have been powerful to be seen with the naked eye against a sunset.
At this point I checked the weather service windy.com to see the forecasted cloud cover, and saw clear skies were expected. Having seen that, together with the rarely seen ‘100% chance' reported in my aurora app, I quickly got changed and spent the next few hours up on deck nine.
A Night of Northern Lights
It was well worth doing so! Thankfully, the sea was relatively calm and the weather incredibly mild. On previous northern lights trips I have to run inside every ten minutes or so to warm up, no matter how well dressed I am.
Deck nine of the Trollfjord was the perfect place to hunt the aurora. Not that much hunting was required, as the aurora came and went in all directions for several hours!
The green was vivid at times, but even when it was lighter, we still saw much more movement than on the previous two nights. It's this movement that fascinates me most about the aurora.
Aurora colours depend on the type of gas and altitude. Oxygen emits green and red, while nitrogen produces blue or purplish hues. Green auroras are easier to see because they occur at lower altitudes (around 100-300 km) where oxygen is abundant, and the human eye is most sensitive to green light.
There was a lot more diversity of colour than I usually see during a display. Although the camera picks up other colours far better than the eye, purple was clearly visible at times as well as the green.
At one point the colours were layered like a giant rainbow at the back of the ship. It was an incredible sight, with or without a camera.
But it's what happened next that will stay with me. At about half past midnight, an arc of light appeared overhead with movement at its peak.
This was just about visible to the eye, but through the camera lens you could see the spectacular deep purple colour and an explosion of activity with more intensity.
This was a sensational moment. As I stared at the colour I began to see the purple with more clarity, something that's been very rare for me in the years I've lived in Norway.
By this time there were far fewer people out on deck, but those of us who experienced Norway's ‘rainbow aurora' won't forget it anytime soon!
The following morning I saw that NRK reported on the light show, which could be seen (to varying intensity, of course) all over Norway. I even saw some reports the lights could be seen as far south as England.
Did you see the northern lights during this display on 12 September? I'd love to hear your experiences down in the comments.
Yes, the lights were really strong on the north-east coast of England, for example, in Scarborough, that night! Lots of pictures from people and on the news!
I can’t wait for your report on MS Trollfjord, especially as we’re boarding it in December for the North Cape Line voyage! I’ve been to Nordkapp twice before but only in summer, and last time was 20 years ago, in 2004!