Everything You Need to Know About the Northern Lights in Rovaniemi – Nature’s Most Impressive Arctic Spectacle!

I’m grateful to have lived some of the most breathtaking experiences in this hidden Arctic corner of our beautiful planet.

Imagine this: driving into the midnight wilderness in subzero temperatures, gathering around a bonfire in a Laavu, and sharing stories with fellow travellers from around the world. There’s something magical about savouring barbecued reindeer sausage and warm blueberry juice, soaking in nature’s quietude. Then comes the wait—tripod set, fingers ready, eyes scanning the Arctic skies for the elusive auroras. And when they finally appear, the camera can’t stop clicking, capturing each fleeting moment.

Photo Courtesy: Lorenzo Mirandola

As I pen down this blog, my gaze remains transfixed on the massive glass windowpane of my secluded apartment in Sudentie 22, Rovaniemi. Living in Lapland is a privilege in itself! The views of the Milky Way galaxy, faint city light, and dancing Auroras are all located 10-15 km from my residence!

It’s September first week, and we’ve already had some splendid Aurora-soaked nights here in Rovaniemi – Lapland’s capital in northern Finland, sitting right across the Arctic Circle. FYI, the Arctic Circle marks the northernmost latitude on Earth and is home to the exotic, fragile Arctic ecosystem. Crossing this line and witnessing the Auroras in the untouched wilderness is a bucket-list dream for many travellers.

Photo Courtesy: Lorenzo Mirandola

I, too, once fancied embarking on Northern Light tours in Rovaniemi and being in the official hometown of Santa Claus. 3 months back, the universe aligned and brought me right to the heart of the Arctic Circle. Upon landing in Rovaniemi, Finland, during the Midnight Sun, I had no idea I’d soon be chasing the most vibrant Northern Lights across Lapland. The best part remains that I was hunting Auroras as a professional tour guide in Lapland for Nordic Unique Travels.

Photo Courtesy: Lorenzo Mirandola

Through this blog, I will try to pass on useful information about the beautiful Auroras. I will also try to answer most of your questions related to the Northern Lights, making your Northern Lights hunting experience more accurate. So here’s everything that you need to know about Aurora Borealis, aka Northern Lights.

Best time to watch the Northern Lights in Lapland

After August, the nights in Lapland start to get darker and longer. It’s time for Autumn to paint Rovaniemi with its vibrant colours. And with Autumn comes the season of Northern Light Tours in Rovaniemi–a spectacle eagerly awaited by the Arctic world. Rovaniemi Tourism largely depends on the northern lights because summer is the offseason in the Arctic region, and everyone waits for snowy winter and the magical Northern Lights.

Sometimes auroras appear as early as the end of August. Autumn (September – October) is the best time to see Nothern Lights in Rovaniemi. However, as a result of solar activity, the polar lights appear in different parts of Lapland from August through April.

What is the Aurora Borealis?

Northern Lights are the result of the collision of charged particles from the Sun with the gaseous particles from the Earth’s atmosphere. There are quite a few shades of the Auroras, and to be honest, not all the colours of the Northern Lights you see are photoshopped. Most of them are for real! 😛

What causes the different colours of the Auroras?

Photo Courtesy: Lorenzo Mirandola

The colour of the aurora depends on which gas from Earth’s atmosphere interacts with the electrons and how much energy is being exchanged. Oxygen emits a greenish-yellow light (the most frequent aurora colour) or a red light; nitrogen is generally responsible for blue or purplish-red northern lights. Yellowish-green–the most typical colour of Aurora, forms close to 60 miles above the Earth’s surface. All-red auroras are rare and produced by high-altitude oxygen. This mostly occurs at up to 200 miles from the Earth’s surface.

Information aside, I’ll also debunk myths about Northern Lights. Here are some:

• Aurora is NOT just a winter phenomenon! Autumn and Spring are the best times to see the Northern Lights. It’s a widespread notion that Northern Lights can be seen only during winter. Northern Lights can be sighted as early as the end of August. This year (2019), it was spotted in the last week of August. If you plan it well, September & October are perfect for Aurora hunting. This means it doesn’t necessarily have to be freezing outside or snowy for you to plan a Northern Lights trip. It just has to be completely dark.
• Don’t expect to watch Auroras from the comfort of your room surrounded by city lights (let alone the exceptional cases of Aurora storm or a great kp of 6 or 7). You must run to the wilderness, where there is absolutely no trace of city lights. Light pollution is the biggest hindrance between you and the Northern Lights.

• Generally, the Northern Lights aren’t as intense as in the photos. If you fancy great aurora shots, make sure to have a professional camera and a tripod or a phone with an advanced camera and a good lens. Normal phones fail miserably to capture the Auroras. My iPhone 7 was a disaster!!
• Predictive apps are good, but nature is unpredictable, and so are the Auroras; never take them for granted. You need plenty of patience and lots of luck to watch nature’s grand show! Currently, Aurora and Spaceweatherlive are the best apps for Aurora forecast for Rovaniemi in the App Store and Play Store.

Interesting facts about the Northern Lights

Photo Courtesy: Lorenzo Mirandola

• There are roughly 200 nights with Auroras every year.
• Northern Lights are typically only visible in the aurora zone, which is 65° and 72° North. Even though the Auroras are active throughout the year, they are not visible from April through August. It is the time when the aurora zone experiences nearly 24 hours of daylight. So, Autumn to Spring, i.e. August-April, is ideal to see the Northern Lights.
• Always try to look in the North while hunting Auroras. Carry a compass for better accuracy!

• The Northern Lights can be tricky to capture because of various reasons such as faint colour, fast movement, or low solar activity. Be prepared, keep your eyes open, and wait for it. Auroras keep changing positions.
• The weather in the Arctic changes in minutes. Therefore, patience is all you need. If the stats look promising, Auroras will appear–sooner or later.
• The Northern Lights can be seen in cities across the Arctic Circle and beyond. So you can watch it from Alaska (most of it), Northern Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Northern Norway, Sweden, and Finland (Lapland).
• Northern Lights intensity is measured on the Kp scale, ranging from 0 to 9.

• Red, green, purple, blue, and whitish-grey are the colours of Auroras, depending on the altitude of the lights visible

Ready to Chase the Northern Lights with a Local Guide?

Book a magical aurora tour with me in Rovaniemi, where Arctic skies, science, and storytelling come together. Let’s go aurora hunting the right way!

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Blog image copyright: Whistling Hound & Nordic Unique Travels