Northern Lights...?
 

Hi There:
This might seem crazy & dumb but I am wondering if anyone has seen the Northern Lights in Scotland & at what time of year? I am from Georgia so we obviously don't get the Northern Lights here & I don't know much about it except that I would like to see it. Since I will be in Scotland in June, that is something I hope to see being so far North.

Thanks :)

The nights are very short in June, at 53 degress north latitude there is no true darkness around the time of the summer solstice, so the window of opportunity to see aurora borealis (Northern Lights) is small.

Besides that, the brightest displays of aurora borealis seem to occur in spring (March-April), although we have had very dazzling displays this fall as well.

As you probably know, aurora are caused by solar particles (coronal mass ejections) interacting with the Earth's magnetic field. They are associated with the sunspot cycle (more aurora when there are more and bigger sunspots), which at the moment is on the downswing (decreasing number).

But it never hurts to look up, the night sky is a beautiful; if you live in a big city with lots of light pollution, you never really see the grandeur of it. Take advantage of the dark skies!!!

I have spent many holidays in Scotland but have never been fortunate enough to see the Northern Lights. You probably have more chance the further north you travel. I have friends who live in Thurso who have seen them.

June is my favourite month to visit Scotland. If you haven't already seen it, I recommend trying to get hold of an old video ( made about 1983) to watch called 'Local Hero' starring Burt Reynolds and Peter Reigert, about Texan oil barons coming over to buy beach areas in the Highlands of Scotland. It has nice scenes of the Northern Lights and is a very quirky and amusing film.

I love it because I've spent a lot of time on the fabulous beaches they show in the film and I think if anyone was planning a trip to somewhere on the Road to the Isles,near Skye, it would make you look forward to your trip!

P.S. the village scenes were filmed on the East coast of Scotland (Peterburgh I think off hand),just in case anyone expects it all to be in one place. [:)]

Hi angel,

I read your post and suddenly remembered the movie. Very pretty scenery.

Hi ira,

I haven't watched it myself in a while but it always makes me long to go back!
My daughter's in her late teens now but that's where we always spent a lot of her childhood holidays. Sunsets to die for!

Hello ThisBuds4ME888 (wow! long moniker!!)

For more on aurora - check this out:

www.spaceweather.com

Once on that website, click on "Aurora Gallery". You will see photos of the recent (November 20th) auroral displays taken from places as far south as Texas, Alabama, Arizona, New Mexico, and yes! - even Georgia !! There are some spectacular shots taken by someone from a place called Buena Vista (Georgia).
And naturally there are lots of photos from northern places such as Alaska, Scotland, Finland, Norway, and Canada.

I have seen the Northern Lights many times; but never in Summer.

The earliest I've seen them is October and the latest April. I suppose it's not impossible in the summer but, given that it barely gets dark, it's mega unlikely.

Do see Local Hero. You'll love it. Watch out for the rabbit.

BTW the village scenes are at Pennan and the beach scenes at Arisaig

Three years ago my future wife were celebrating our 6-month anniversary at her mother?s house in Kent. After dinner we went out side for a breath of air and I looked up to see the whole of the Northern half of the sky lit up with greens and reds, very slowly moving, getting brighter and darker. It was amazing and slightly scary as we were in Kent in August! We found out later that apparently, the Sun had gone, through a particularly violent period two days before and we were seeing the effect on the Earth. It took a long time for us to be believed or for us to believe what we saw.

Something happened a few weeks ago and apparently in the North West of Ireland they saw the northern lights for 1-2 nights. It sounds amazingand I hope to see them in my lifetime. My brother is a photographer and has seen them several times tells me they are impossible to describe.

Keep an eye on the solar flare info, I've been bummed because some of the strongest solar activity has occured in the past month and we've had clouds. I saw wonderful pictures on the internet from Oklahoma of the northern lights. You will certainly be in range in Scotland, but you have to wait for one of those solar belches. I don't think they are tied to our seasons. They were out on our flight to Europe last time, and we were on the left side of the plane. Big Fun!

I live int he north of Scotalnd and have never seen the Northern Lights!

Danna, you wrote that "I don't think they are tied to our seasons."

Actually, everything, including seasons and northern lights, are tied in to the activity of the sun and our orbit around the sun, so indirectly it is seasonal activity. (Not all solar flares send particles in the direction of the earth, a lot of them just pass us by, or travel in a direction away from us).

Of course, the seasons don't cause the northern lights, but it well may be that the earth's position in orbit around the sun places us in a better position to be in the path of solar flare activity in spring and fall.

topping for Sheila! :)

I have seen the Northern Lights only once on a flight from Chicago to Frankfurt some 30 years ago. Though I was intrigued by the spectacular display which occupied most of the transit over the North Atlantic as I sat entranced for hours, I was even more intriqued by the reaction of my fellow travelers whose response was to pull down their window shades.

I am not a Gaelic speaker but have been told that the literal translation of the Gaelic term for the aurora is "the dancing men." I don't know if that's true but I repeat it often enough.

Seeing them in June in the northern hemisphere, especially north of Lat 45 is highly unlikely. Another reason, as if one was needed, to go to Up-Helly-Aa in Shetland next week. All you Vikings got yer horns on?

Nothing to do with the actual northern lights, but I have just finished Northern Lights by Phillip Pullman; what a great book.

Gardyloo, that translation is spot on.

The Gaelic is na fir chlis;- literally, the men who dance.

Thank you, Sheila. Pretty cool, eh?

This site answers all of your questions.

http://www.northern-lights.no/index.shtml