This region is better known as the “Aurora Zone.” Stretching across Scandinavia—particularly Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland—the Aurora Zone is particularly important during declining phases of solar activity, which we’re currently experiencing.We’ll get into the timing of the northern lights more in a bit, but the where it puts out more, or less, solar radiation. We have gotten to know Chad and Lights Over Lapland over the years online before spending a bit of time with him in Abisko. Wow! We’ve seen the Northern Lights in Keflavik, but had the best luck in Iceland in the north.I went northern lights chasing in Rovaniemi and Iceland in January 2017. Generally, You make a really good point that people think you will see them all over the entire sky like stars, but that isn’t necessarily the case. Do your best with what you’ve got.Even though we’re in a solar slump, so to speak, we’re armed with more information and applications of that data than ever before. On “off” years when CMEs are low (2019 is the next projected Solar Minimum), the northern lights are rarely seen outside of the Aurora Zone.If you want to see the Northern Lights any time soon, you have to go north to the Aurora Zone. We think they’re really convenient for keeping an eye on conditions, but you don’t necessarily see the Northern Lights right from your bed. The best place to see the northern lights in Europe is in the Aurora Zone between 65 and 72 degrees N Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Iceland are the top northern lights destinations The northern lights are on an 11-year cycle (seriously), and we’re in the trough of that right now, which means you really have to go north if you want to see … But the reality is that Northern Lights photographers spend a lot of long, chilly nights doing nothing other than waiting for a natural phenomenon to occur so that they can capture it on film.Lights Over Lapland offers 5-day Northern Lights photo expeditions with expert photography instructions from owner and world-famous Northern Lights photographer Chad Blakely. In both cases of these destinations, you’ll need to book excursions for the activities like dog sledding, snowmobiling and the like.Based on this blog post and further research on the information provided here, my husband and I travelled to Abisko in February 2017 for four nights. What about the weather during theses day ? But between one full week in Abisko and Lapland, you should see the Northern Lights at least once. But the other factors still have to line up with the sun emitting gases. Guys? However Abisko seems to be in the middle of nowhere so what do most hunters do during the day (kindof on a low budget though! They even have an airport, Tromsø Airport (TOS), so you can connect directly from Oslo.If you only have a few days, to search for the northern lights, Tromsø is for you. The ice doubles the effect of the , a heated igloo-inspired tent right on Muonio’s frozen Lake Torassieppi, is a great budget alternative to the sticker shock of Kakslauttanen’s luxury glass igloo domes, while still providing that once-in-a-lifetime northern lights experience., aurora hunters who head to the the Paatsjoki Bridge, in Nellim, near the Finnish-Russian border, have a “90% chance of success.” That’s a pretty bold claim, but he seems to know what he’s talking about. If you don’t feel up to hunting for the northern lights in the dead of winter, head to Lofoten for the Masters Competition in September 2018 for the kickoff to the aurora season.If you want to learn about budget travel, minimalist carry on packing, or how to travel (and even live and work) in dozens of countries all over the world, Shawn is your guy.Shawn is not a New York Times bestselling travel author, but he is a full-time freelance blogger, copywriter, and content manager and is also a published photographer. We suggest you stay right in Abisko National Park to be away from the light pollution of the village of Abisko. we went to Rekyavik looking for the Northern Lights but were unsuccessful. !Norway, the westernmost country on the Scandinavian peninsula is a hotbed of northern light activity. However, the weather changes so fast in the Arctic that you could have heavy snowfall and clear skies all inside of an hour. Northern Lights most typically occur in the aurora zone between 65A lot of conditions all have to line up perfectly for Northern Lights to occur and be seen. Jennifer's photography has also been featured on publications such as USA Today and Travel + Leisure and on the Travel Channel.I hadn’t heard of Abisko, so this was a fascinating article – thank you! The lights appear … And thank you for such useful info on your blog!We were in Abisko the first week of January and we were in Tromso the first week of March. In Abisko, you can do snowmobiling, dog sledding, visit or stay overnight in the Ice Hotel, visit the Aurora Sky Station and all the other same activities that are available basically anywhere in Lapland. Then the sun gradually returns until aurora events become difficult to see around mid-April. Click here to see all northern lights … People love fun science facts, right? Historical weather shows that January tends to have about 15 days or roughly half the month that precipitation falls. The lights also came out at that hotel on 2 January and 4 January 2017 but I wasn’t there.Thanks for sharing your experience, Dawn!