Aurora Borealis September 2013

[Topolino31]

Hi all, we are going to the Norwegian Fjords in September on Independence of the Seas and wondered if anyone who has been on this cruise can help. I would really love to see the Northern Lights and I would like to know if you had any notification from the ship as to whether there is a chance of a sighting via the daily newsletter or TV, I understand that you only get a few days warning, thank you

Topolino 31

[gaelsail]

Hi all, we are going to the Norwegian Fjords in September on Independence of the Seas and wondered if anyone who has been on this cruise can help. I would really love to see the Northern Lights and I would like to know if you had any notification from the ship as to whether there is a chance of a sighting via the daily newsletter or TV, I understand that you only get a few days warning, thank you

 

You may see Northern Lights in September- they were visible occasionally from August onwards last year, but it is unlikely. You are also visiting the fjords whereas people looking to see the lights go up into the Arctic- but again it is not impossible.

 

You may only get a few minutes warning and I would be surprised if the ship would be issuing information on them in the fjords.

[Subarctic]

You may see Northern Lights in September- they were visible occasionally from August onwards last year, but it is unlikely. You are also visiting the fjords whereas people looking to see the lights go up into the Arctic- but again it is not impossible.

 

You may only get a few minutes warning and I would be surprised if the ship would be issuing information on them in the fjords.

 

It's the peak of the solar cycle this year, so it's not totally unlikely you could see some in Southern Norway in September. The likelihood rapidly increases towards the northern parts of the country. There is no way to tell specifically at which time and place there might be any Auroras.

 

Ambient light from the ship itself and the surroundings would I think ruin much of the experience, as these are really quite faint, and the time of the year shortens any possible time for observing them.

[Desdichado62]

Like the others have said it will probably be hard to see on your cruise so you have to comeback in the winter. ;)

 

It's not Norway but in Swedish Lappland, there is a place called Abisko and it is where the Aurora Sky Station is located.

They have organized tours up onto the mountain to watch (for) Auroras.

 

However not even there is there any guarantees of auroras.

 

http://www.auroraskystation.com/information/21/

http://www.svenskaturistforeningen.se/en/Discover-Sweden/Facilities-and-activities/Lappland/Fjallstationer/STF-Mountain-station-Abisko/

http://www.tripadvisor.se/Attraction_Review-g189812-d645638-Reviews-Aurora_Sky_Station-Lapland.html

[kaisatsu]

You will never get a few days' warning anywhere. There are ways to predict the activity given the solar activity, but it's incredibly imprecise. I've been out all night on days with extremely high activity predictions directly under the belt of auroral activity, and still seen nothing.

 

Honestly, the best prediction is the weather. You need clear skies, and the clearer the skies the better your chance of seeing something.

 

If you're sailing the Norwegian coast, you'll have better chances as you get closer to Tromsø, since that's where you'll hit the band of peak activity.

[Topolino31]

You will never get a few days' warning anywhere. There are ways to predict the activity given the solar activity, but it's incredibly imprecise. I've been out all night on days with extremely high activity predictions directly under the belt of auroral activity, and still seen nothing.

 

Honestly, the best prediction is the weather. You need clear skies, and the clearer the skies the better your chance of seeing something.

 

If you're sailing the Norwegian coast, you'll have better chances as you get closer to Tromsø, since that's where you'll hit the band of peak activity.

 

 

Thank you all for your replies they are very helpful especially the clear skies bit that will save me standing out when its a bit overcast,

Thanks again, Linda

[gottagocit]

We're booked on a 16 day northern route transatlantic cruise in a few weeks from Copenhagen to NYC and purposely selected a balcony on the north side of the ship in hopes of seeing the lights off our balcony at least one night.

 

With much of our route taking us to the south of the area where its typical seen we're hoping for clear skies when we are near Iceland where we're not too far from the a Arctic Circle.

 

Fingers crossed!

[gaelsail]

The aurora has already been seen and photographed in Scotland at the beginning of this week (12 August) :cool: A good sign, I hope for those hoping to see them in Norway.

 

News report & photo

[gottagocit]

The aurora has already been seen and photographed in Scotland at the beginning of this week (12 August) :cool: A good sign, I hope for those hoping to see them in Norway.

 

News report & photo

 

Excellent! Hoping for clear skies and active lights.

[Subarctic]

Here's the official portrait (timelapse):