Belle Belle Posted February 25, 2023 #1 Share Posted February 25, 2023 My husband and I are considering a March 2024 16-night cruise to Norway that includes overnight stays in Honningsvag, Alta, and Tromso. Our main objective is to see the lights. What is the likelihood that we will have sightings on excursions? Thanks for any input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitemare Posted February 25, 2023 #2 Share Posted February 25, 2023 Depends on how clear the skies are and whether the lights are "on". We've spent 5 nights in Iceland in March and 7 more in September with no luck. We had full days planned and had two great trips Some folks get many nights in a row with shows. Some get none. Lights should be considered a bonus, have plans during the day and hope you get a show at night, too. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallasm Posted February 25, 2023 #3 Share Posted February 25, 2023 March is generally a good month for Northern Lights. With an overnight stay in Honningsvåg, Alta, and Tromsø, and with possible excursions to areas with fewer clouds there should be a very good opportunity. The best northern lights I have seen from ships in this area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheOldBear Posted February 25, 2023 #4 Share Posted February 25, 2023 This past November QM2 did a one and a half overnight in Tromso. I did the ships northern lights bus tour on the second night [the ship sailed just after the tour returned]. There was about 50% cloud cover with intermittent showers [more likely to be snow flurries in march?]. There was a problem with ambient light due to a nearly full moon. You never really got dark adapted. A local guide directed the bus to what should be a favorable location - and we pulled over and bailed out when the aurora was visible through the bus windshield. The cloud cover was mostly in our favor, blocking some of the moonlight. After about 45 minutes at the first location, we went to another likely spot. By then there was less cloud cover/more moonlight so it was difficult to see aurora with the naked eye. I would point my camera in a likely direction and take a fairly long exposure. Most of the time on review there would be some aurora colors - other times it would just be a high cloud illuminated by moonlight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallasm Posted February 25, 2023 #5 Share Posted February 25, 2023 2 hours ago, TheOldBear said: other times it would just be a high cloud illuminated by moonlight. Clouds cannot be predicted, but it may be a good idea to check the moon phase Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belle Belle Posted February 25, 2023 Author #6 Share Posted February 25, 2023 3 minutes ago, hallasm said: Clouds cannot be predicted, but it may be a good idea to check the moon phase The vernal equinox is March 19, and I've read that there an increased likelihood of seeing the lights. The full moon is March 25. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitemare Posted March 1, 2023 #7 Share Posted March 1, 2023 Lights don't care about things like the Equinox. Easier to see at New Moon than at full, just due to the relative darkness. But the other thing doesn't mean a thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallasm Posted March 1, 2023 #8 Share Posted March 1, 2023 9 minutes ago, Nitemare said: Lights don't care about things like the Equinox. Earth's magnetic field steers the charged particles towards the poles. Spring and autumn Equinoxes (around 20 March and 20 September) is actually told to have greater Northern Lights activity, not because there are more solar activities during this period, but due to the Earth's angle relative to the Sun the magnetic field does not protect the Earth quite as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitemare Posted March 2, 2023 #9 Share Posted March 2, 2023 19 hours ago, hallasm said: Earth's magnetic field steers the charged particles towards the poles. Spring and autumn Equinoxes (around 20 March and 20 September) is actually told to have greater Northern Lights activity, not because there are more solar activities during this period, but due to the Earth's angle relative to the Sun the magnetic field does not protect the Earth quite as well. I have read this before but I have never seen evidence of better shows because of it beyond anecdotal "one offs". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallasm Posted March 2, 2023 #10 Share Posted March 2, 2023 1 hour ago, Nitemare said: I have read this before but I have never seen evidence of better shows because of it beyond anecdotal "one offs". You are right - but many official Aurora websites show statistics on how many sights there are each month. Just one example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitemare Posted March 4, 2023 #11 Share Posted March 4, 2023 Claims of sights in May thru August make me scratch my head Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare gnome12 Posted March 4, 2023 #12 Share Posted March 4, 2023 1 hour ago, Nitemare said: Claims of sights in May thru August make me scratch my head The graph shows geomagnetically disturbed days, not aurora sightings. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallasm Posted March 4, 2023 #13 Share Posted March 4, 2023 22 minutes ago, gnome12 said: The graph shows geomagnetically disturbed days, not aurora sightings. Thank you for the clarification - solar storms all year however not possible to the Northern lights when the sky is not dark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now