Tromso: Tops for 2023? Northern Lights?

[TLCOhio]

From the New York Times Travel Section this weekend, they have this headline: “52 Places to Go in 2023" with this sub-headline: "Travel’s rebound has revealed the depth of our drive to explore the world. Why do we travel? For food, culture, adventure, natural beauty? ”

 

Tromso is one their top world locations that this annual NY Times reporting puts in the spotlight.  Here are some of their highlights: “After years of low solar activity, projections are looking up for travelers hoping to experience the aurora borealis, or northern lights. As the sun’s volatility increases, with more coronal mass ejections and solar flares, so, too, will the frequency and intensity of the aurora. Experts predict solar activity to peak in 2025.  One of the best places to see the northern lights, Tromso, Norway, is more than 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle, and is relatively accessible, as far as reliable viewing locations go. Most important, the town’s surrounding landscape, near the sea but with mountains nearby, offers enough distinct weather zones to make it likely that there will be clear skies most nights — a must for seeing the lights when they do appear..”

 

We enjoyed Tromso when visiting there in July 2010 on a cruise to the top of Europe as detailed below on my live/blog.  But in summer, no northern lights, right?

 

Full story at:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/travel/52-places-travel-2023.html

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise from Copenhagen, July 2010, to the top of Europe. Scenic visuals with key tips. Live/blog at 245,707 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

[hallasm]

11 minutes ago, TLCOhio said:

We enjoyed Tromso when visiting there in July 2010 on a cruise to the top of Europe as detailed below on my live/blog.  But in summer, no northern lights, right?

Northern lights all year round - however only visible when sky is dark - best from September through March. Yes, Winter 2024/2025 will be a good time for Aurora Borealis.

[Hezu]

18 hours ago, hallasm said:

Northern lights all year round - however only visible when sky is dark - best from September through March. Yes, Winter 2024/2025 will be a good time for Aurora Borealis.

And even if the sky is dark, another requirement for seeing auroras is clear skies, if it is cloudy you can forget seeing any even if the space weather would otherwise predict wonderful colours in the night sky.

[TLCOhio]

On 1/14/2023 at 5:28 PM, hallasm said:

Northern lights all year round - however only visible when sky is dark - best from September through March. Yes, Winter 2024/2025 will be a good time for Aurora Borealis.

 

Appreciate these great comments and follow-ups by Hezu and Hallam about the Northern Lights.  When visiting in the summer, when it is light mostly 24/7, then it will not be dark enough to see the Northern Lights.  Right?

 

Also, on a cruise ship, the schedules might have you in port only from 8 am to 6 pm, limiting your evening opportunities.  

 

To share more from our 2010 visit, below are some visuals of the Arctic Cathedral and from on top of the mountain top reached by a cable car.

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Sydney to NZ/Auckland Adventure, live/blog 2014 sampling/details with many exciting visuals and key highlights.  On page 23, post #571, see a complete index for all of the pictures, postings.  Now at 240,387 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

 

For Tromsø highlights, below are exterior and interior views of their Arctic Cathedral.  Not an old, traditional church, but interesting and well positioned.  Next was doing the Fjellheisen Tromsø cable car that provided great views over a large portion of their downtown and the surrounding scenic areas.  The top is at an altitude of 421 meters above sea level.  We also visited a local museum with polar and community history.:

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these visuals larger/better!)

 

 

 

 

 

[Hezu]

1 hour ago, TLCOhio said:

Appreciate these great comments and follow-ups by Hezu and Hallam about the Northern Lights.  When visiting in the summer, when it is light mostly 24/7, then it will not be dark enough to see the Northern Lights.  Right?

 

Also, on a cruise ship, the schedules might have you in port only from 8 am to 6 pm, limiting your evening opportunities. 

 

Yes, although the disturbances in the magnetosphere can occur year around, during the late spring and summer there is too much light during the nights to see Northern lights. However, in the southern hemisphere it would be possible to see aurora australis that time of the year as then there days are short and nights long, although there tends to be fewer locations in suitable latitudes to observe this phenomenon compared to suitable northern hemisphere locations for aurora borealis.

Although I don't have any experience in winter cruising, the opportunities to see auroras while on land might be increased by the fact that winter days in the north are short, areas above arctic circle for a while there is polar night during which sun does not rise above the horizon at all and you get only short dusk/dawn period with some faint light in the horizon. Further north you go, the polar night lasts longer. Of course you could see auroras also when you're aboard a ship, although the ship lights may hinder this a bit and the idea of aurora photography aboard is pretty much doomed: you want to take long exposures on a tripod, but since while underway the ship always shakes a bit, your camera setup does not stay static sufficiently long. And I guess it is worth a note that naked eye may not see auroras as well as cameras taking those long exposures.