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The Northern Lights
The Northern Lights; or Aurora Borealis; are glowing light formations which can sometimes be seen at night in Aberdeenshire.
Check to see if there is a chance of seeing the Northern Lights. View Auroral activity Monitored by the NOAA Polar Operating Satellite.
The Northern Lights can last all night or just for a few minutes, and are caused by solar activity. Solar activity projects charged particles towards earth which are attracted to the magnetic North Pole.
The interaction of these particles and the earths magnetic field are always different; which explains the many different unique effects we are able to see. The Northern Lights can look like smoke, bursts of light and curtains of light, etc.
You can find out your chance of seeing the Northern Lights in Scotland by monitoring the sun’s activity.
How to see The Northern Lights
1. Bear in mind that you can’t normally see the Aurora during the summer months.
2. Go somewhere free of light pollution from village & town lights, if you can. High up on a hill might work well; but good observations have been made lower down; near village lights, when the conditions are right.
3. Go on a cloudless night.
4. Check for solar activity before you go.
View NASA’s latest images of the sun Look for solar flares which will affect the Aurora.