Friday Photo #627 – Northern Lights

Photo: Northern lights and moonlit mountains over Vik beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 24, 2019. 00:13

The media hype around this year’s solar maximum and, ‘OMG!!! Best time in 10 years to see northern lights!’ No doubt means Lofoten will be busier than ever this coming winter season. But I’ll tell you a little secret – there are always northern lights on Lofoten, and most anywhere in the aurora oval. Some periods may be more quiet that other, such as January 2024, which otherwise should have been very active, but that has as much to do with the earth’s magnetic field, as it does with the activity from the sun. And of course the biggest factor for Lofoten, the weather!

If you had been to Lofoten during the previous months, then you’ll mostly have been disappointed with your northern lights chasing, as there has been a near continuous cloudy sky and stormy weather over most of northern Norway. No matter how active the sun is, if you can’t see the sky, then you cant see the northern lights. On my own, I usually only go out under ideal conditions the days, as so far that has only been a handful of nights this season.

But the good news is! There is no on-off switch for the northern lights. They will be here next year, the year after, and many years to come.

Here is an old photo from January 2019, during the solar minimum when the sun was supposed to relatively inactive. And yet here is an aurora filled sky over moonlit mountain peaks. And I have dozens of similar nights each year for the last decade. So don’t worry, the northern lights aren’t going to be ‘over’ if you don’t visit the north this year. Next year will be fine as well, and all the years into the future…

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Sigma 14mm f/1.8
14mm
ISO 2000
f 1.8
1.3 Seconds
WB Daylight