Today.Az » Weird / Interesting » What about to see magic Northern Lights? - PHOTOS
21 November 2013 [13:10] - Today.Az
Last year's Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) show wasn't bad but the greatest natural light display in a decade is coming this December, according to NASA.
Solar activity will hit the peak of an 11-year cycle at the end of the year -- and the more intense the solar flares, the more magnificent the aurora display.
"The vast majority of auroras occur in a band known as the Auroral Zone," says Alistair McLean, founder of a similarly named tour agency -- the Aurora Zone -- that specializes in Northern Lights trips.
"This band can expand when solar activity is high."
The best chance to see the Northern Lights will be somewhere between 66 to 69 degrees north -- a sliver of the world that includes northern Alaska and Canada and bits of Greenland, northern Scandinavia and northern Russia.
Before venturing into any of these freezing wildernesses, it's worth checking out the kp index, a measure of electromagnetic activity in the atmosphere. A reading of two or higher is considered good for Northern Lights spotting.
You can also head south, for the Aurora Australis (Southern Lights), lighting up from around March 2014 onwards.
/CNN/
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