Ali Mclean

The light pollution created by more than 8 million people would render even the most vibrant of Auroral displays above the UK’s capital pretty much redundant but, for six weeks only, the Northern Lights will be visible in SW3.

Have you noticed how popular Finland has become recently?

Every time I open a magazine or the travel section of a national newspaper it seems that everybody is tipping Finland as THE hot destination for 2017.

If you have read our more recent blogs you’ll know that the sun is currently in the declining stage of Solar Cycle 24. As a result, it is Coronal Holes rather than Coronal Mass Ejections, that are more likely to cause Auroral displays over the course of the next few years.

The Sun is currently in the declining stage of Solar Cycle 24 and this has prompted some speculation that Auroral displays will become less commonplace. Fortunately, this is not the case because the Aurora stems from two sources: Coronal Mass Ejections and Coronal Holes.

During the declining stage of the Solar Cycle it is the less violent but more stable Coronal Holes that are the more likely to cause the Northern Lights to dance in our night skies and the beauty of these holes on the SUN’s surface is that they can come round time and again.

Ladies and gentlemen, tonight’s contest is to decide the celestial heavyweight championship of the year.

In the blue corner; The Northern Lights!!

In the red corner; The biggest moon for 70 years!!!!

Warning! Contains scenes of nudity

1.Warmer Temperatures

Temperatures in March tend to be milder than in the very heart of winter. Okay, it’s still not exactly tropical and only the hardiest of souls would brave the elements like our hero below. However, Aurora hunting requires patience and the chances are that you will be warmer waiting in March than in say December or January.

It has been said that as we reach the 'Solar Minimum' stage of Solar Cycle 24, the Northern Lights will disappear from view.

For us to reassure you as to why this won’t happen we have to take a look at the science behind the magnificent Aurora Borealis.

Every September we seem to write the same thing……..

”What a great start to the Aurora hunting season!”……..

and this year has proved to be no exception.

APRIL FOOL!

Thankfully the Northern Lights are not flicked on with a switch and Finland won’t be privatising this natural phenomenon anytime soon!

To find out how the Northern Lights really appear click here!

Vote for us

If you receive our newsletter you may recall that we recently highlighted that the Northern Lights occur more frequently in especially around the spring and autumn equinoxes.

The essence of the article was as follows:

“One strange side effect of the equinox is a dramatically increased likelihood of auroras………….

NASA data shows that geomagnetic disturbances are twice as likely to occur around the equinoxes (March-April), (September-October) than around the solstices. Why? The answer is likely the same reason for the season: axial tilt." 

(Image taken 17/03/16 by Antti Pietikainen)