The Northern Lights
So, you thought winter in Lapland was in black and white. Nothing could be farther from the truth. In
fact, the polar night is alive with light and color.
The white snow reflects a heavenly light show – glittering stars, a full moon and the magical, mystical
Northern Lights. But what, exactly, are the Northern Lights? The Northern Lights, Aurora Borealis,
appear in a clear night sky as swirling rivers of greenish-blue light.
They move and dance unpredictably; sometimes barely perceptible, then suddenly growing vivid. In
simple terms, the auroras can be explained as an interaction of the solar wind and the Earth’s
magnetic field. The solar wind consists of charged particles emanating from the Sun. These are
captured by the Earth’s magnetic field and drawn towards the poles at very high speed.
The phenomenon occurs when the particles collide with atoms and molecules in the upper atmosphere,
transforming kinetic energy into visible light. Their color is most often greenish blue. Sometimes, the
Northern Lights can be red or purple. The different colors depend on the types of atoms, their speed
and charge. The most intensive auroras occur at a height of about 100 km and can be 10 to 30 km high,
although they can extend, with diminishing light intensity, several hundred kilometers upwards to, at
most, 1000 km.
Normally, the Northern Lights can be seen on virtually every clear night at high latitudes in the
northern hemisphere, under the so-called north polar auroral oval. In Sweden, the polar auroral oval is
most often above Kiruna’s latitude. It must be dark for the auroras to be visible, and they are best
viewed from open spaces away from peripheral light.
As a winter visitor to ICEHOTEL, in the polar night you stand a very good chance of receiving a cold and
colorful winter greeting from the Sun, the Northern Lights.
Light - always welcome when it returns in spring to the regions north of the Arctic Circle. Slowly,
nature awakes as the snow melts away. Bubbling and trickling can be heard from every ditch, mountain
stream and glade. All living things rush towards summer with
open arms.
North of the Arctic Circle, the period from early-June until
late-July is like a single, long day. At this latitude and time
of year, the Midnight Sun never dips below the horizon.
Sleep seems irrelevant, and energy virtually inexhaustible.
Take advantage of it. Experience nature at night, when
everything exciting happens.
Courtesy of the ICEHOTEL