Alta Norway – A search for the Northern Lights

Alta Norway – Search for the Northern Lights

Alta is the northernmost city in the world with a population of over 10,000 inhabitants but the population has been growing steadily for many years and it is easy to see why. The city is often referred to as the City of the Northern Lights due to its location that means that you can often see the Aurora Borealis or the Northern Lights when there are clear skies.

The Aurora is often referred to by many names such as the Aurora Australia, Aurora borealis, Northern lights, Southern Lights but they all refer to the result of disturbances in the magnetosphere caused by the solar wind. The resulting ionization and excitation of atmospheric constituents emit light of varying colour and complexity.

Alta created the first Northern Lights observatory in 1899 in a town called Halddetoppen and it brings in tourists each year to come and view the amazing sights.

If you are searching for the Northern Lights in Alta there are many ways to do it. First of all, be aware of the weather track what is happening out there and when is going to be a day to go on your search. Keep a track of the solar flares there are many websites that track the Solar flares and how strong they are. They are good to give you an idea of timing and placement that will be best to see them. There are many tour operators that will take you to try and find the northern lights but be aware that the worst way to see them is on a lit-up bus filled with loads of people and cameras. The darker it is the better. If you are going to go on a guide with someone with local knowledge then take a small private group tour and do your research first.

When you get to see the amazing site that is the Northern Lights it is an experience like no other but although looking at it with your eyes is magical what you might find is that when you take your camera out and take pictures you will have more colour and see more in the pictures than your eyes can naturally see.

Often taking a boat trip can be a great way to get the best views as you are coming away from the lights of the land and you can go into the deepest darkness and be able to get the colours at their full. Searching for the Northern Lights from Alta is the best way to see the rarer red colours across the Aurora and not just the beautiful greens, blues and whites.

For those who have a little more cash to splash then a dogsledding tour across the snow to see the lights is an experience, many can only ever dream of being able to do. Or for a little more luxury the ice hotel has been known to have amazing views of the Aurora in luxury and style.

The key thing when taking your personal search for the northern lights is to look at your budget do your research and see what you can do to make your dreams come true.