ICELAND
Iceland's magnificent night life
A lava field near Reykjavik seemed the ideal spot to see the shimmering lights of the aurora borealis. Too bad nature didn't cooperate.
Iceland is famous for two kinds of night life. One is the manic weekend reveling in the capital, Reykjavik, where young folk stream from bar to bar in the narrow cobblestone streets, drinking, dancing and striking occasional sparks until daybreak.
The other night life takes place 60 miles above this austere volcanic island, where electrons and protons cast off by the sun collide with particles in the upper atmosphere to produce an effect more sublime than that on the ground: the aurora borealis, or northern lights.
In late December, I accompanied a friend in hopes of experiencing the second version. We had watched a DVD titled "Aurora Borealis: The Magnificent Northern Lights," 72 minutes of gorgeous geomagnetic disturbance backed by a soundtrack from
Iceland seemed the ideal auroral stamping ground. At 66 degrees latitude, it is usually in the brightest swath of the auroral zone encircling the north pole. Its treeless terrain would provide clear views. And it boasts the little urban gem of Reykjavik as a daytime counterpoint.
We had booked our tickets from Boston in early November -- $577, taxes and fees included -- to take advantage of the fall of the Icelandic krona. Nearly seven weeks later, on a moonless Saturday, we gathered in the village of Vogar, 27 miles from the lights of the capital. Swaddled in down and layers of warm clothing, I sat in a grass-covered lava field, staring up at the darkness, waiting.
::
Auroras are always shimmering somewhere over the polar regions. They occur most frequently in a 1,500-mile radius centered on the Earth's off-center geomagnetic poles, between 60 and 70 degrees north and south latitude. Seen from space, they look like a radiant tonsure circumscribing the top and bottom of the planet.
Auroras demonstrate the possibilities of plasma physics in a celestial laboratory. In the upper fringes of the Earth's polar atmosphere, high-energy electrons and protons bombard oxygen and nitrogen. The gases emit tiny flashes of light in the process, similar to the discharge in a neon sign.
Their sheer variety confounds scientists: They can appear as arcs, bands, drapery, curtains, veils, coronas, rays, swirls, angel wings and gauzy clouds. They can wave, turn, pulsate, blink, flicker and flame. Although the most common colors are green (from oxygen atoms) and red (from nitrogen molecules), auroras can glow violet, yellow and blue. There are even black auroras, which look as if paint has been splattered across the firmament.
Though
Depending on the culture, auroras have been interpreted as torches wielded by friendly giants, reflections of light from distant schools of herring, the highest level of heaven, souls of maidens, spirits of the stillborn, portents of war and pestilence.
Science has whittled down such fantasies. Today, we know that auroral abundance or scarcity tracks the 11-year sunspot cycle. During the so-called solar maximum -- when sunspots, solar flares and dramatic "coronal mass ejections" tend to peak -- earthly auroras are brighter and more extensive, reaching farther from the magnetic poles to lower latitudes.
Today, we are emerging from the trough of the solar cycle, with auroras expected to start picking up this year. The sun's activity will peak again in 2012 or 2013.
But that doesn't necessarily mean this is the off-season. You can see auroras during solar minimums and miss them during solar maximums. Particles continuously stream from the sun and light up the sky somewhere.
If you are planning a trip and want to improve your chances of witnessing the spectacle, the science of space weather -- environmental conditions in outer space that affect Earth -- comes in handy.
::
For modern aurora chasers, space weather prediction has changed the nature of the quest. Government and academic websites feature not only seven-day forecasts of the lights, but also hourly prognostications. Travelers can be apprised daily of solar restlessness and its probable effects on auroral activity. Serious sky watchers can even arrange for cellphone and e-mail alerts about imminent auroral displays.
One such popular website is operated by the
To figure out whether you have a decent shot at seeing an aurora, you first look up your magnetic latitude (which is different from geographic latitude) and determine how high the Kp index must be for you to see an aurora at your locale. Then you check the site's 24-hour forecast to see whether magnetic "storms" are brewing. If the numbers augur well and the sky is dark, pray for clear weather.
The Geophysical Institute at the University of
For the technologically addicted, several services offer up-to-the-minute aurora alerts, based on the Kp index.
For $4.95 a month, Spaceweather Phone (www.spaceweather.com) will call you two days in advance of geomagnetic storms (for example, when a coronal mass ejection is hurtling toward Earth) and when such a storm over your location is strong enough to trigger an aurora. The Geophysical Institute also offers free e-mail alerts.
Perhaps the most timely and reliable service is Aurora Chasers (www.aurorachasers.com), which will send you e-mail, pager or cellphone alerts for free. The notifications are sent 30 to 60 minutes ahead of the event, giving you time to set up a camera, as well as saving you hours of fruitless observation.
"I like sleep, and I didn't want to spend wasted nights going out to find there was nothing there," said Aurora Chasers founder
Simpson bases his predictions on data streamed by a government satellite that measures the solar wind and the strength of the Earth's magnetic field. The briefly worded text messages report the Kp strength of imminent auroras, and when they will unfold and taper off. Subscribers determine the threshold at which they want to be alerted -- whether it's a relatively weak aurora that hugs the horizon or a breathtaking display that reaches overhead.
About 6,700 sky-watchers subscribe. "The vast majority are people who have never seen an aurora in their lives and want to see it," Simpson said.
Like me, many are travelers who want to boost the prospects of success once they arrive at their chosen observation post. Some are hotel operators in Alaska and Canada who cater to aurora cognoscenti. A few are cheesy romantics who use the service to schedule marriage proposals under the flashing heavens.
::
I had figured that Iceland's northerly locale and late-December new moon augured well for aurora watching. As I neared my travel date, I checked the aurora forecast websites to fine-tune my expectations -- and my optimism dimmed. The day of my departure, the NOAA Space Weather Prediction website said that "Solar activity is expected to be very low" and that "Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be at quiet levels during the forecast period," which, I noted with a sinking feeling, coincided with my trip.
The Geophysical Institute was equally downbeat. During my stay, it called for auroral conditions ranging from "quiet" to "minimal."
Single page |
1
2
>>
 This hotel, which dates to 1921, has 39 rooms and commanding perch by a big river. |
 A look inside the airline's first Airbus A380. |
Italy: Flights plus 5 nights in Venice and Florence for $989
Enjoy art and architecture in Florence, and, when in Rome, explore everything from Mussolin...
Read more »
Users' Favorites
Taking restless Southern California on vacation
Los Angeles Times e-mail newsletter, delivered every Thursday
wherever it appears.