Destination Harstad official travel guide
Official touristinformation for: Harstad, Kvæfjord, Bjarkøy, Tjeldsund, Skånland.
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Northern Lights above Harstad and the surrounding region
Green light shaped like curtains, like rolling smoke or in a rapid flicker, or the occasional full corona of pink, violet, white and green; the Aurora Borealis is a beauty out of this world. Harstad and the surrounding region are right in the middle of the Northern Lights Zone. This means that there is nowhere on earth you can see more Northern Lights than here.
Did you know...
- The Northern Lights occur approx. 100 km above the ground
- In Latin the Northern Lights are called "Aurora borealis", the northern sunrise
- Gallileo Gallilei gave the Northern Lights this name as he saw red Northern Lights over the north of Italy
- In Scotland, the Northern Lights are called the "merry dancers"
- In the Southern Hemisphere, there is the "Aurora australis"
- The Harstad region is right in the middle of the Northern Lights zone
Impressions of the Northern Lights
The Northern Lights move across the night sky like rolling smoke or in a rapid flicker or green light shaped like curtains. Occasionally, the Northern Lights explode in full corona of green, violet, pink and white fill the sky for a minute or two.
The light is more beautiful in reality than on films or postcards, as it is difficult to fully capture the Northern Lights.
Where is the best place to see the Northern Lights?
As the Harstad region is in the middle of the earth’s Northern Lights belt, it is among the best places on Earth to observe this natural phenomenon.
On a clear night, the very same lights are visible all over the region, so it doesn’t really matter where you are. But the lesser “artificial” light around, the better the experience.
When is the best time to see the Northern Lights?
The highest possibility of seeing the Northern Lights is between 6pm and midnight, with the statistically best chance around 10pm. In the period between the autumnal equinox (approx. September 21) and the spring equinox (approx. March 21), it is dark after 6. Clear skies are also required to see the Northern Lights.
Nobody knows exactly when the Northern Lights are turning up, so it’s a good idea to bring a thermos. Keep active by going cross-country skiing or taking a walk.
What are the Northern Lights?
The Northern Lights originate from the surface of the sun. Sun storms hurl loaded particles into space, and a few of those particles come towards planet Earth. They are led along the magnetic field of the planet to a ring-shaped zone around the Magnetic North Pole. Here, they interact with the particles of the upper layers of the atmosphere, around 100 km above the ground, and energy is released as the lights we see.