31 Southwest Highways
Rare red aurora
-trekearth.com
The color of the light depends on what kind of gas the solar wind particles collided with. Atomic Oxygen creates green and dark red lights, Atomic Nitrogen creates blue light, and Molecular Nitrogen creates purple light.
The best time for viewing the northern lights is from December to March, when the nights are long. Unseasoned visitors will find this time of year in the arcitc is extrememly cold. If properly dressed, the Northwest Territories is an amazing place in the winter, where you can ride in a dogsled looking up at the rippling Northern Lights on a perfectly clear night.
2013 is the solar maximum, which means that the aurora intensity and brightness will increase 30 to 50% this fall and winter. The solar maximum is when solar storm activity is at its peak, which occurs every 11 years or so.
The northern lights have facinated people for thousands of years, and come into First Nation and Inuit folklore quite a bit. Some legends say that the aurora tells what is coming in the future.
In clear weather, chances are good that you will see the aurora on almost any night from late August to early April.
Aurora Village near Yellowknife will pick you up from your hotel and take you to their secluded teepee village where
you can sit out and watch the aurora without interfering city lights. They even have dreamcatcher-making lessons, dogsled rides, and snowmobile and snowshoe rental all under the dazzling aurora.
Imagine gazing out your window at night and seeing this:
The north is calling. Answer it.
-Eamon Decker