What are the Northern Lights?

Anyone who reads my blog regularly, (and if you don’t, why not?), will know that I have been writing a lot recently about a company called Hurtigruten. They’re a Norwegian cruise line offering cruises above the Arctic Circle. I’m not, however going to be talking about them today. For anyone who does want to read my blogs on them just click here or here.

What I am going to be talking about is the Northern Lights. It has been impossible to write about Hurtigruten without mentioning the Northern Lights over and over again. They’re one of the main reasons for cruising above the Arctic Circle, but in response to an email I received this morning, today I will be trying to answer the question:
What are the Northern Lights?

In the simplest form the Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis to give them their correct name, are just lights in the sky.
Which is kind of like calling the roof of the Sistine Chapel a big painting. It’s technically correct whilst still being completely wrong.
The Northern Lights are so much more than that.
If you haven’t seen them no description is ever going to do them justice, and when I say see them I don’t mean in a picture or on TV, it’s just not the same.
Watching them live, in person, above the Arctic Circle is one of the most awe inspiring natural phenomenons that you will ever witness.
Try to imagine a horizon covering curtain of rippling light arcing many miles up into the sky, sometimes hanging still, at other times dancing in front of you at unbelievable speeds. Green tends to be the predominant colour but if you're lucky you may also witness shimmers of white, yellow, red or blue. There might sometimes just be an enigmatic wisp of colour in the background, at other times they will be emblazoned across the sky, sometimes you may get both within the space of an hour, and no two displays will ever be the same.
Once you’ve seen them in all their glory it’s not something you’ll ever forget. You’ve heard people talk about once in a lifetime experiences? This is one of them. But what actually causes these dramatic displays of nature at her best?
Well this is where the techy bit starts I’m afraid. For anyone who’s already convinced feel free to give me a call to discuss Hurtigruten further, but if you’re like me and need an explanation for everything, then read on.

The Northern, (and Southern), Lights result from emissions of photons, (light particles), in the Earth's upper atmosphere, about 80 km (50 miles) from the ground. They are ionized by the collision of solar wind particles being funneled down and accelerated along the Earth's magnetic field lines; ionized energy is lost by the emission of a photon of light, or by collision with another atom or molecule:
Oxygen emissions result in green or brownish-red, depending on the amount of energy absorbed, whilst Nitrogen emissions result in Blue or red emissions.
Confused? Don’t blame you. If you understood the last couple of sentences you're a better man than me, but who cares about explanations when you can just lie back on your cruise ship and enjoy what is one of the most spectacular displays nature has to offer.

Have any of my constant readers ever been above the Arctic Circle and witnessed this? Let me hear your comments here about what you thought of your experience.

Happy Cruising