As a graduate student in astrophysics and a night sky enthusiast, moving to Estonia and getting to see the Northern Lights seemed like a dream come true. Not to mention that the past few years and the next few years, while I’m here, will be during the peak of sun activity. That was amazing news!
But I wasn’t seeing any lights…maybe I was not far enough north? Actually, no. Estonia’s location is perfect for seeing the Northern Lights. But how does one spot them here? And what can one expect to see?
It is true that places like Iceland and Sápmi, in Northern Scandinavia, as well as Canada, are usually the classic destinations for the Northern Lights, but there was a May evening in 2023 when I received a message and opened my bedroom window to see…the sky was full of aurora borealis green! (did you get the Taylor Swift reference?)
Although it was nighttime, the sky was lit up by shades of green that were dancing on top of my roof, shining in from all my windows. I was enchanted to actually see them that bright, and the next day I told everyone about them!
Which made me think…can I get an alert when they happen?
The sun has an 11-year cycle during which it has some periods of higher activity, resulting in stronger stellar winds coming from the sun. These winds are particles that when captured inside the earth’s atmosphere will produce light, which is how we get the Northern Lights. This year, 2024, we are expecting to see more and more. And I want to be able to to see all of them!
So, here are some tips: apart from the general rule that this year will be the best, the predictions are not that accurate. Scientists monitor the sun’s activity, but how fast the particles in the stellar wind, coming from the sun, reach the Earth is not straightforward. Scientists can predict an 8-50 hour window within which the stellar wind will reach the Earth’s atmosphere.
So how can you see the Northern Lights? I think that the easiest way is to use the app My Aurora Forecast & Alerts. It is very easy to use because it shows the probability of seeing the Northern Lights based on your location at the moment, as well as a cloud coverage map. It also has predictions for the following days, so that you can keep an eye on when the Northern Lights might appear again. There are other scientific websites as well that monitor the sun and its atmosphere but they do not specifically focus on the Northern Lights.
The biggest problem in Tartu is light pollution. Especially from the factories, or even from the streetlights which outshine everything that is underneath them. So if you look from a street or Raekoja Plats, the streetlights will probably block your view of the night sky. And here comes my life’s paradox: I have only seen the Northern Lights dancing from my apartment, in Karlova, even though I have tried to see them many times, in many places, even in Northern Finland and Sweden. But as I said, if you are not on the ground, or something hides the city pollution, you can catch a glimpse. I live on the third floor, which is ideal! In my experience so far the best places in the city are Toome Hill, around Delta or the beach by the Emajõgi, the park at the end of Tähe street…. or anywhere that is higher than the street lights.
Magnificent show given on the beginning of 24 May.
What we can see with the eye can either be magnificent like photos of famous photographers, or more frequently it is a green purplish curtain falling from the sky. The eye does not capture lights as much as a camera does (the camera is more accurate because it has an exposure of many seconds) but it can still notice the dancing patterns in the sky.
What it usually looks like.
(All photos are mine, taken with my phone from my house in Karlova, window and roof views)
Leave a Reply