A friend of mine is planning a cruise around the Norway Russian border and
has asked when would be the best time to go in order to have the best chance
of seeing the Northern Lights. Bearing in mind that the cruise would have to
be booked some months in advance. Does anyone have any idea of a website
that would show this type of information. ?

Thanks,

Jim

I am about to insult intelligence here so apologies if I do.

I would imagine that these cruises are most popular in the summer when
of course it isn't dark at any stage. Winter half of the year (ie
equinox to equinox) offers the only real chance. I used to live in
Northern Scotland and in my experience of seeing the aurora from
there, provided it is dark, there is no particular best season.

Jack

"Jim Bennett" wrote in message
news
A friend of mine is planning a cruise around the Norway Russian border and
has asked when would be the best time to go in order to have the best
chance
of seeing the Northern Lights. Bearing in mind that the cruise would have
to
be booked some months in advance. Does anyone have any idea of a website
that would show this type of information. ?

Thanks,

Jim

Jim, when I went to Finland at the end of February last year I was told it
was an ideal time to see them, and it proved correct with several excellent
displays. http://www.pfrr.alaska.edu/aurora/faq.htm#season appears to
confirm this.

Jon.

In message , Jim Bennett
writes
A friend of mine is planning a cruise around the Norway Russian border and
has asked when would be the best time to go in order to have the best chance
of seeing the Northern Lights. Bearing in mind that the cruise would have to
be booked some months in advance. Does anyone have any idea of a website
that would show this type of information. ?

In about five years as it's the sunspot minimum. You should really go
quite some way north, e.g. Tromso, and in winter.

There's a very enjoyable run up (or down) the Norwegian coast run by
these folks, http://www.hurtigruten.co.uk/ with whom I spent a merry
Christmas 2005.


--
Tim
http://www.pitfieldbeershop.co.uk/

Look at this superb website:

http://www.arcticphoto.no/images/aurora/index.html

The home page is:
http://www.arcticphoto.no/index2.html

Jack

"Jon O'Rourke" wrote in message
...
Jim, when I went to Finland at the end of February last year I was told it
was an ideal time to see them, and it proved correct with several
excellent
displays. http://www.pfrr.alaska.edu/aurora/faq.htm#season appears to
confirm this.

Jon.

Many thanks for all your replies. Most helpful. My friend has indeed now
booked the cruise for early February.

Thanks again.

Jim

Remember it isn't necessarily the time of the year but the amount of solar
activity so it is a bit pot luck but it helps to be where they will happen

have a look at http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/Aurora/

you can see it in England if all is well , I went to the Arctic Circle
Finland last March and didn't see it :0(

cheers

Mike

"Jim Bennett" wrote in message
news
A friend of mine is planning a cruise around the Norway Russian border and
has asked when would be the best time to go in order to have the best
chance of seeing the Northern Lights. Bearing in mind that the cruise would
have to be booked some months in advance. Does anyone have any idea of a
website that would show this type of information. ?

Thanks,

Jim

In message
"ptmike" wrote:

Remember it isn't necessarily the time of the year but the amount of solar
activity so it is a bit pot luck but it helps to be where they will happen

have a look at http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/Aurora/

you can see it in England if all is well , I went to the Arctic Circle
Finland last March and didn't see it :0(

cheers

Mike


30 odd years ago I lives up in Kiruna, Sweden for a couple of years.
The best time to see the aurora was certainly winter time, but I
remember one occasions seeing it in daylight towards the end of May, I
think just before the start of the midnight sun. This was in late
evening, just after sunset, but it never really gets dark at that time
of year.

This was rather different from the usual shimmering "curtains", and
consisted of balls of light rather like cumulus clouds that were
forming and disappearing again after a few seconds. I have never seen
anything like it, before or since.

Martin


--
Created on the Iyonix PC - the world's fastest RISC OS computer.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/m.dixon4/

On Dec 5, 12:52 pm, "Jim Bennett"
wrote:

A friend of mine is planning a cruise around the Norway Russian border and
has asked when would be the best time to go in order to have the best chance
of seeing the Northern Lights. Bearing in mind that the cruise would have to
be booked some months in advance. Does anyone have any idea of a website
that would show this type of information. ?

http://www.polarimage.fi/

Some related physics he
http://www.iop.org/EJ/abstract/0029-5515/39/8/702/
http://nova.stanford.edu/%7Evlf/opti...veSprites.html

That last is an early paper on the subject of mega-lightning/above-
cloud lightning. Channel 5 had a programme on it a couple of years
ago.