Expert: Jim Coll - 5/16/2006

Question
what is the best place to see the northern lights in finland, leaving from stansted airport?

Answer
Dear Mathew,

The pulsating and multicoloured northern lights are born at a height of about 100 kilometers above ground level as electrically charged particles collide with the earth's atmosphere near the magnetic poles. Northern lights can be seen from the beginning of  September until April (but not every night). Our summertime isn't dark enough for seeing northern lights (we have the midnight sun). In Northern Finland (above the Arctic Circle) you have much better possibilities to see northern lights than in Southern Finland. E.g. Tampere is a totally too southern town but there are northern lights in 200 nights in Saariselkä region in Lapland every year.

I recommend flying to Ivalo airport (Saariselkä region) or Enontekiö or Kuusamo - direct or via Rovaniemi. Rovaniemi is also a quite good place but I especially recommend Saariselkä region, e.g. Hotel & Igloo Village Kakslauttanen http://www.kakslauttanen.fi . You even may rent a glass igloo there, stay in your bed and see northern lights through the glass roof/ceiling!

You find more information about the northern lights here:

A La Carte Lapland: http://www.alacartelapland.com

Arctic Academy: http://www.arcticacademy.fi

Aurora in Levi center: http://www.lelawhisnant.net/kittilajournal/aurora2.htm

Aurora photos by Studio Tunturi-Lappi: http://www.studiotunturi-lappi.fi/studio (choose Aurora on the left)

Auroras now: http://aurora.fmi.fi/public_service/english/start_page.html  and http://aurora.fmi.fi/public_service/english/earlier_auroras_material.html

Digital Photo Experiments (Northern Lights): http://koti.mbnet.fi/~amika/digiexp/phenomenon/index.htm

Finland.com Travel Portal: http://finland.com/main-63-id.do

Finland videos (Santa Claus, Christmas, snow activities, lakes & rivers, Northern Lights): http://www.visitfinland.com/web/index.nsf (click Finland videos on the right)

Finnish Meteorological Institute: http://www.fmi.fi/research_space/space_9.html

Hotel & Igloo Village Kakslauttanen (one of the best places for seeing Northern Lights): http://www.kakslauttanen.fi and http://www.travel.fi/int/kakslauttanen/

Jouni Jussila: http://spaceweb.oulu.fi/~jussila/aurora/

Kiela Naturium (Northern Lights planetarium in Muonio): http://www.kielanaturium.fi

Lapland Finland: http://www.laplandfinland.com/?deptid=16543

Oulu University: http://www.oulu.fi/~spaceweb/textbook/auroras.html

Santa Television: http://www.santatelevision.com/northernlights/index.html

Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory: http://www.sgo.fi/

Ursa: http://www.ursa.fi/ursa/jaostot/revontulet/english.html

Virtual Finland: http://virtual.finland.fi/netcomm/news/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=25559 and  http://virtual.finland.fi/finfo/english/aurora_borealis.html

Visit Finland: http://www.visitfinland.com/winter/facts/northern_lights.html

With very best regards,

Jim