Is the aurora in the South Pole or the North Pole?
Aurora appears in the high magnetic latitudes of the earth, which is a rare natural landscape. Its colors are purple, rose, orange, white and blue.
Although there are aurora in both the Antarctic and the Arctic, we usually see it near the Arctic Circle. The main reason is that there are cities and people near the Arctic Circle. Apart from the Antarctic continent, there are almost no other countries around the Antarctic circle. Summer in Antarctica is a polar night, and no one will go there except the expedition members.
Of course, when the aurora is particularly strong, you may also accidentally see it in New Zealand.
So the aurora points are basically near the South Arctic Circle.
Of course, it doesn't cover the whole South Arctic Circle, but it appears as a belt. The circle becomes larger when the aurora is strong and smaller when it is weak. If you are at the pole, there is actually no aurora.
The following picture is a map of the aurora belt of the North and South poles.
Regarding aurora, there is an index that must be known: aurora index, KP for short. KP is divided into ten grades. When KP=9, the aurora is the strongest and the coverage area is the largest; When KP=0, the aurora is the weakest and the coverage area is the smallest.
At the altitude of 1-2, the aurora is generally stationary. Level 3 or above, basically visible to the naked eye. Above level 5, the aurora will become the link of dancing. Above level 7, you can see colorful beating aurora, which is what we call aurora burst. If it is 9, then congratulations, you really earned it.
The following figure shows that when KP=3, the aurora can be seen within the blue line. When KP=9, the aurora can be seen in the red line.
Well, at the peak of KP, you can hardly see the aurora in Mohe, China. So many people advocate going to Mohe to see the aurora on the Internet. Just listen to it. Don't take it too seriously. Mohe is not in the aurora at all.
Download these two apps,' My Aurora Forecast and Warning' and' Northern Lights Aurora Warning', which can automatically get your location and predict KP value.
These two APP fruit machines are available, so be sure to install them. Look at the artifact APP of Aurora.
My aurora forecast warning
Aurora borealis warning
Although the aurora belt is very large, there is still one condition for you to see the aurora, at least it needs to be the city and its surrounding areas, otherwise it is not allowed in hardware. There are not many cities near Aurora.
Basically: Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden and Norway), Iceland, fairbanks, Alaska, Canada, Huangdao Town and Yukon, Murmansk, Russia and Greenland.
It's time to watch the aurora.
In theory, September to April is more suitable. Of course, this is the northern hemisphere. If you go to the southern hemisphere (occasionally seen in New Zealand and Chile), it is usually from April to September.
Personally, I suggest going at the Spring and Autumn Equinox, which is the end of the journey. There will be a greater chance of seeing the aurora burst. Mainly related to the magnetic field of the poles.
In addition, 9 pm to 2 am is the prime time to watch the aurora.
There are a few points to note.
Be sure to check the weather forecast before you leave and choose a cloudless day in Wan Li.
Therefore, you need a website where you can read the weather forecast and choose a day when it is unlikely to snow.
The fruit machine has good weather function. Of course, you can also go to some professional meteorological websites to inquire about the weather conditions in the same period a few years ago where you want to see the aurora.
At this time, I would like to recommend fairbanks in Alaska. The weather is very dry, and it hardly snows.
In addition, remember to look at the lunar calendar, and never choose the day when there are few stars on 15 of that month. Although there are often aurora, if it is too bright, it will seriously affect the effect of seeing aurora. Some KP values are not high and may not be obvious.
Recommend another APP, also on the fruit machine, called "Aurora Forecast"
This APP updates the coverage area, Kp value and duration of aurora every hour through several observation stations distributed in the Arctic Circle.
The advantage of this APP is that it is not good to watch the aurora at night, so you can't wait in the dark all the time. This APP can tell you what time period is worth waiting for.
Aurora viewing place recommendation
I think there are many factors to consider in this question.
How long is your holiday? Some places, such as Alaska in the United States and Huangdao Town in Canada, may be destroyed in a day and a half. It's really troublesome to go to Huangdao Town. There seems to be no daily flight between Vancouver and Toronto.
What is your budget? Local consumption in Nordic countries and Iceland is not cheap either. The United States and Canada are medium, and Russia is definitely the cheapest.
Comfortable or cold? There are many glass houses in Finland where you can see the aurora, and lying down is definitely the best choice.
Do you want to play something besides watching the aurora? At this time, you should choose those destinations with rich tourism resources and relative cities. Besides watching the aurora, you can also have fun during the limited day.
Of course, the visa issue also needs to be considered. Recently, visas for the United States and Canada are quite difficult.
The cheapest aurora, Murmansk, Russia
Murmansk is the largest city in the Arctic Circle, an ice-free port on the edge of the Arctic Ocean, and the most cost-effective place to see Aurora at present. Don't tell me Mohe, Mohe can see the aurora, but the probability is too low, okay? )
Not surprisingly, you can see the aurora within 10,000 per capita in Murmansk. And it's convenient to fly. Generally speaking, it is a domestic direct flight to Moscow or St. Petersburg, and then transfer to Murmansk. Tickets under 4 thousand are easy to buy. After all, it's Aeroflot.
Of course, Murmansk's problem is that he is not very good at playing except watching the aurora. In Murmansk, it seems that you can only eat Doby huskies, king crabs and salmon. I don't know what else to do.
There are generally three ways to see the aurora in Murmansk. One is to report to the local aurora hunters, who will drive you to the suburbs to see it. Why send it to the suburbs? All the lights in the city have poor viewing effect.
The second one is to Terry Belka on the edge of the Arctic Ocean. There is an aurora base, which can be seen when you live in a room or walk out the door.
The third is Lowozero on the edge, which is also the aurora base.
Murmansk is a good choice if you only have a week and want to save some budget.
Huangdao Town, Canada
Secondly, the relatively high cost performance should be the town of Yellowknife in Canada and the White Horse City in Yukon not far away.
The main reason is that air tickets in the United States and Canada are relatively cheap recently, and I predict that this cheapness will last for a long time (it is unlikely that Sino-US relations will ease and improve in the short term).
Huangdao Town, the capital of northwest Canada, is close to the Arctic Circle, so there is a great chance to see the aurora. It was rated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as the best place to enjoy the aurora in the world, and the aurora observation stations all over the world are located in Huangdao. There are about 240 days a year to see the aurora here, so if you go to Huangdao to see the aurora, it is also a high probability.
However, Huang Dao also has a problem, that is, there is not enough fun except aurora. It is suggested to go to Huangdao to see the aurora, and then go to the Rocky Mountains, Yukon Nature Reserve, or Vancouver together. If you want to see the aurora alone, I think flying the yellow knife is too far.
Yukon White Horse Market is more cost-effective than Yellow Knife. Because of different popularity, fewer people go, and the expenses of accommodation and play are much smaller.
Besides Yellow Knife, it is also a good choice to go to Canada to see Aurora White Horse City.
You can learn about the aurora in Yukon through this website.
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The aurora with high playability is Finland.
Aurora marketing Finland is absolutely the best, no one.
It's interesting to see the aurora in Finland, such as rovaniemi, which is in the Arctic Circle, the hometown of the legendary Santa Claus.
Besides watching the aurora at night, there are many other recreational activities. If there is a sign of the Arctic Circle, you can take a photo of crossing the Arctic Circle and get a certificate to enter the Arctic Circle.
In addition, there are all kinds of snow sports in rovaniemi, and the residents here have been dealing with snow all their lives. Dog sledding, restaurants, deer farms and polar zoos can all make you get in close contact with animals.
You can also go out to sea on an icebreaker, put on a special floating suit and float on the ice.
By the way, there is also a transparent glass house for online celebrities. Chasing the aurora under the covers should be the ultimate dream of many people.
In addition, Sa Ricerca in Finland is also a good place to watch the aurora.
It is also cost-effective to see Aurora in Finland, mainly because Finnair has direct flights to Helsinki in many cities in China. If you don't live in the glass house of online celebrities, you can easily get it within 12000 yuan per person. If you stay for two nights, it will be about 15000 yuan.
Iceland
Iceland is the only country in the world that can enjoy the Northern Lights all over the country, and it is a good place to catch up with the Northern Lights. Moreover, going to Iceland in winter is actually not the peak season in Iceland (the peak season is summer), so it is ok in terms of cost performance, especially the price of air tickets and hotels.
Disadvantages: Iceland is a suitable place for road trip, but driving in Iceland in winter is really bad.
In fact, I recommend going to Iceland in winter, because some hotels in Iceland are expensive and super cheap in winter.
For example, the IonAdventureHotel, which is only about an hour's drive from Reykjavik, Iceland, can see the aurora.
There is also PanromaGlassLodge, located in the fjord west of Reykjavik, the capital, about 45 minutes by car. This is a lonely hut, and the outdoor bubble pool brings the minimalist style of northern Europe to the extreme. It is also a hotel where you can see the aurora when you lie down.
Well, going to Iceland to see the aurora in winter is the kind that can live a good life and cost-effectively.
A website for predicting the aurora in Iceland. If you want to go, you can save it.
https://en.vedur.is/weather/forecasts/aurora/
Relatively comfortable to see the aurora, fairbanks, Alaska.
The advantage of fairbanks is that it is not so cold. Relying on the barrier of mountains, fairbanks can avoid bad weather. It is also warmer in winter, and the climate is dry and sunny all year round. Clear and cloudless weather is best for observing aurora.
In fairbanks, you can see the aurora almost 240-250 days a year.
Americans know how to have fun. If you go to fairbanks in September, October or April, there will be many interesting things. Why this time? Because the days are not so short at this time.
For example, you can take the Aurora train from Anchorage to fairbanks. This is a wonderful journey.
You can go hiking in Mata Nusca Glacier Park. There really aren't many destinations for hiking on glaciers. You can also go out to sea to watch whales, icebergs at sea and bear fishing.
You can also soak in hot springs and watch the aurora.
Anyway, as long as you have money, you can have fun in Alaska. Why do you say that as long as you have money? Because the local itinerary in Alaska is really not cheap.
By the way, if you go to fairbanks to see the aurora, the following website will provide daily aurora intensity forecast, so be safe.
https://www.gi.alaska.edu/monitors/aurora-forecast?
In addition, Tromso, Lofoton Islands in Norway, Abisco in Sweden and even Greenland are all good aurora tourist destinations. But the problem in these places is that it is too expensive, and everyone has to pay 20 thousand.
Moreover, the playability of these destinations in summer will be significantly higher than when watching the aurora in winter. My suggestion is that if you are not a high-end player, it is not recommended to go to these places. It's not that it's bad, but it will be more troublesome to play, with more homework and high cost.
Of course, in these places, beauty is really beautiful.
About equipment
Don't say how to wear it. Everyone knows that. Of course, if you watch the aurora in a glass room, it doesn't matter how you dress up.
My suggestion is to prepare a good camera and bring some batteries, because batteries are very useless in extremely cold conditions. Sticking a warm baby to the camera is also a good choice.
If you want to shoot the aurora, you'd better take a tripod. Huawei mobile phones are more reliable than fruit machines at night.