The Northern Lights.

[teamsaint]

Anybody been to see them? Any good advice?

Where's best to see them?
Iceland? Norway? Blackpool?

all advice welcomed.
Cheers.

TS.

[MrGongGong]

I've seen the northern lights twice
once while driving from Middlesborough to Newcastle
and the other time was coming out of the pub in Donegal when they were tremendous and spectacular causing us to spend ages simply staring at the sky

I hoped to see them in Shetland on the couple of times I went but sadly not
well worth a trip though

[Thropplenoggin]

Anybody been to see them? Any good advice?

Where's best to see them?
Iceland? Norway? Blackpool?

all advice welcomed.
Cheers.

TS.

I believe Londoners generally take this to mean any street-lighting north of the Watford Gap.

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[Serial_Apologist]

I hoped to see them in Shetland on the couple of times I went but sadly not
well worth a trip though

Is it true that there's just one traffic light there, which changes once a week, and people just go there to see that?

[Nick Armstrong]

Anybody been to see them? Any good advice?
...
all advice welcomed.
Cheers.

TS.

Yes, ts - v good question

Advice welcomed by me too - one of my remaining ambitions (having been to the Galapagos, my other 'natural world' ambition since childhood)

[MrGongGong]

Is it true that there's just one traffic light there, which changes once a week, and people just go there to see that?

No
(and it's not a Theremin on Good Vibrations either)

[french frank]

The capital 'O' of 'Old' is inaccurate, given what follows.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SNODgG0Fd4

[umslopogaas]

I saw a spectacular display in Iceland during a school summer trip there many years ago. I've never seen them in the UK (though in truth, I havent spent much time looking).

[amateur51]

Perhaps not strictly Northern but I thought these time-delay photos were rather good ...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/picture-galleries/10522924/Photographer-Maurizio-Pignottis-stunning-timelapse-images-of-the-solar-system.html?frame=2768218

[Sir Velo]

Anybody been to see them? Any good advice?

I'll tell you for free they don't look anything like TV makes them appear; where they are distinctly enhanced, shall we say?

A friend went on a cruise and was distinctly disappointed by the lack of a proper light show.

[BBMmk2]

I know someone who has, and this was by plane! By far the best way he said!

[MrGongGong]

A friend went on a cruise and was distinctly disappointed by the lack of a proper light show.

Was it from Birkenhead to Liverpool via Seacombe ?

[Sir Velo]

Was it from Birkenhead to Liverpool via Seacombe ?

Off the coast of Norway within the Arctic Circle; it was dubbed as the "Northern Lights Extravaganza (sic)". They saw some thin, wispy streaks of light and bugger all else for the knockdown price of 4 grand.

Apparently, the best light show was in the ship disco.

[Don Petter]

I remember seeing a fantastic display in August 1959 while staying at Gairloch, in Wester Ross. It was like being inside a huge striped blancmange covering the whole sky, with ever-changing vibrating colours.

I see from a Wiki article that this was quite close to the maximum of the most active eleven-year sunspot cycle in recorded times. (A maximum Smoothed Sunspot Number of 201.3 in March 1958, easily beating the next highest of 164.5 in December 1979.)

[arancie33]

I know someone who has, and this was by plane! By far the best way he said!

I saw them from the air once. Nice and shimmery but not overly colourful. I also heard them! Not, I am sure, my imagination but presumably a static-type noise on the radio caused by the electrical disturbance which caused the aurora.