The Northern Lights are quite common high up in the atmosphere but they are, for most parts of the Earth, too far away and too faint to be seen.

They flicker brightest and close enough to be witnessed from a broad surface belt that forms a circle around the Arctic Magnetic Pole, not the true North Pole, but some 15-23 degrees south of it.

This belt covers a good part of Alaska, stretching onward to Hudson Bay, across Southern Greenland, Iceland and the extreme northern part of Norway, Sweden and Finland and the lights are also common within a broad lane across Northern Siberia.

This area is the “Northern Light Zone”.

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To view the Northern Lights one needs clear skies and darkness, regardless of air temperature. On a clear evening or during a clear night, temperatures in the Arctic are close to zero or subzero. That is why the lights have been associated with cold weather.

In reality, however, they shine high above any weather system and their intensity and occurrence is dictated by the Sun’s activity, notably the frequency of sunspots and glowing “eruptions” of atomic particles.

The atomic particles, protons and electrons form the so-called solar wind and travel very fast into space, reaching Earth within a few days. The turbulent sunspot and “eruption” activity commences with an 11-year-cycle.

The lowest point was in 2007/2008, and around 2011/2012 a high point will occur so that the liveliest Northern Lights within a decade should be visible in a period roughly from 2010 to 2013.

In the far north darkness from early evening to late morning is to be expected in the autumn, throughout the winter and in early spring, or in other words, from September to April.

During that period any day is as good as another for viewing the celestial lights - that is, if the solar wind does create some activity above your head and clouds are not obstructing the view.

Iceland touches the Arctic Circle. The whole island lies within the “Northern Light Zone”. The country has an excellent infrastructure, a lively and relatively large capital city, Reykjavik and sparsely inhabited or uninhabited areas close to all major towns as well as Reykjavik.

Given a number of short, direct flights from the UK and many major cities in Europe and the USA, Iceland is the ideal destination to hunt for Northern Lights.

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