2024 brings the brightest Northern Lights display in 11 Years

the sun is currently approaching another solar maximum around 2024-2025. So, if you are planning now is the perfect time to arrange an aurora hunting trip.

The Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, will dazzle at their brightest this year, drawing visitors from around the world to witness the mesmerising dance of lights near the North Pole.

People have been fascinated by the stunning, dancing ribbons of light across the night sky for thousands of years. Despite its allure, this amazing light show is rather difficult to spot.

They can be seen frequently at higher latitudes around Arctic circle, making, Norway, Finland, Canada and some parts of Russia, a hotspot for aurora hunters.

The science behind the spectacle

The northern lights are created when energized particles from the Sun interact with Earth’s upper atmosphere with speeds up to 72 million kph. The Earth’s magnetic field deflects these particles towards the polar region to protect Earth from the solar particles. This interaction of energized particles with the magnetic field results in a dramatic show of colour in the polar night sky.

The sun is constantly spewing charged thermal particles from its upper atmosphere or corona into the space creating solar winds. The aurora is created when that wind slams Earth's upper atmosphere or ionosphere. The phenomenon is known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) in the northern hemisphere and the southern lights (aurora australis) in the southern hemisphere.

While solar winds are constant, the Sun also emits solar flares, massive solar explosions that shoot light, energy, and fast-moving particles into space. About every eleven years, there is an increase in the number of solar flares, that bombard Earth with extreme amounts of energy, resulting in brighter Northern Lights.

Lucky for astronomers, the sun is currently approaching another solar maximum around 2024-2025. So, if you are planning now is the perfect time to arrange an aurora hunting trip.

You may even witness different colours on your aurora hunt, depending on the composition of Earth’s atmosphere at the location as every molecule creates a different colour in interaction with charged particles.

When oxygen is hit at 100 km above Earth, it emits green light; but, above 160–320 km, it creates all-red auroras, which are an uncommon sight. The sky glows blue when nitrogen is present, but when nitrogen is higher in the atmosphere, the glow takes on a purple tint.

Northern Lights thus prove to help us understand features of Earth’s upper atmosphere like composition, density, flow speeds, and the strength of electrical currents. Whether you're an avid astronomer or a curious traveller, the Northern Lights invites you to witness one of the greatest shows on Earth and draws you closer to the mysteries of the cosmos.