When fully qualified and dauntingly clever people such as Jyrki Manninen, Deputy Director of the Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory in Finnish Lapland comment on the prospects for the new Aurora season, our ears prick up and we listen.

An article in the Finnish press on 31 August 2021 asked Manninen for his expert opinion on one of, if not the most, asked questions regarding the Aurora Borealis. 

When is the best time to see the Northern Lights?

After several months of waiting, the 24-hour daylight of the ‘Midnight Sun’ has said goodbye for another year. Last week the news that Aurora hunters everywhere had been waiting for finally arrived – the 2020/21 Northern Lights season has begun!

If you are seeking a peaceful holiday to unwind, don't just go off-the-beaten-track, travel out of season to uncover one of the best-kept secrets of Northern Lights hunting; autumn! Autumn is one of the best times of year to see the Northern Lights, however, it is often overlooked in favour of the snowy winter months.

Next autumn, you have to go north

In many destinations, autumn can often pass by in a blur, somewhere between a desperate cling to summer and dreading the incoming dark and cold nights of winter. In the Arctic, however, it is a season worth celebrating. Autumn here is a landscape bathed in colour, the natural world transforming before your eyes and quite frankly, one of the best places in the world to really experience the spectacular season of change.

Autumn in the Arctic is nature like you’ve never seen it before. It is more than the trees shaking off their summer coats - it is a landscape full of life, gracefully preparing for the oncoming winter. The summer bloom turns into deep and vibrant autumnal shades and just above the breathtaking landscape, you’ll find the Auroras making their sensational return to the skies.

So, take a deep breath of some of the cleanest air in the world, listen to only the sounds of nature and come with us to explore the colourful ground of Arctic Europe in autumn...

If you have kept track of any of our previous blogs, you will probably be aware that here at The Aurora Zone we love autumn! Despite your reservations, there is a very good reason for the fact we regularly try to convince anyone that will listen that autumn is an excellent time to visit the Arctic Circle – namely the Northern Lights viewing potential!

Lapland’s winter wonderland reputation is so ingrained in our minds that it can be easy to forget that this location goes through all four wonderful seasons!
One in particular that excites us here at the Aurora Zone is autumn. That’s because this time of year marks the spectacular return of the Northern Lights – but that’s not all this season has to offer.

Though we don’t usually like to reveal all of our Northern Lights secrets, this one is too good to keep to ourselves – autumn is a spectacular time to go Aurora hunting.

Between late August and mid-November, the Arctic undergoes a spectacular transformation. As the Midnight Sun starts to set and the landscape prepares for the winter freeze, autumn’s reputation as the season of change has never been more apparent than in the North.

We are blue in the face from telling anybody who will listen that autumn is an excellent time to search for the Aurora Borealis. Scientific research and findings from various esteemed Solar Physicists repeatedly point to increased geomagnetic activity (and hence, Auroral displays) in the weeks around the autumn and spring equinoxes.

The big question therefore, is; has this new aurora hunting season started well?

Here at The Aurora Zone, there is nothing we want more than for our clients to have the best possible chance of witnessing the Northern Lights. One of the ways we try to optimise your chances is by learning all we can about the underlying science which causes Auroral displays (you can find out more about this on our website under ‘The Science of the Northern Lights’). 

The Northern Lights season may be at a close as summer draws nearer, but fear not the Auroras will not be gone forever. In fact, here at The Aurora Zone, we think that the beginning of the Northern Lights season in autumn is a pretty special time of year and arguably one of the best times to go on an Aurora hunting adventure.

Another Aurora hunting season is drawing to a close in Northern Scandinavia. The Northern Lights will still be visible well into April but, during the 24-hour daylight of summer’s Midnight Sun, all an Aurora hunter can do is catch up on lost sleep and long for the darker nights of autumn.

Autumn is coming and we just can’t wait to see a new season of the Northern Lights!

Why are we so excited about autumnal Northern Lights? Here are five good reasons!