One of the top goals on my bucket list is to see the Northern Lights. For years I have put it off but one image has placed it again at the forefront of my travel agenda.
NASA releases an “Astronomy Picture of the Day” on its website. On Monday, it released the following image:
“Dragon Aurora over Iceland” / Copyright: Jingyi Zhang & Wang Zheng
Most people are talking about the dragon in the sky. Certainly, the resemblance is uncanny…especially with the purple tongue.
And while that is cool, what’s cooler is the phenomena itself. Explaining it, NASA said:
Although real flying dragons don’t exist, a huge dragon-shaped aurora developed in the sky over Iceland.
The aurora was caused by a hole in the Sun’s corona that expelled charged particles into a solar wind that followed a changing interplanetary magnetic field to Earth’s magnetosphere.
As some of those particles then struck Earth’s atmosphere, they excited atoms which subsequently emitted light: aurora.
There are so many places I’d like to go…but Aurora Borealis is so high on the wishlist. It’s time to make it happen.
CONCLUSION
The nice thing about the Northern Lights is that I don’t have to go to Iceland. I could go to Alaska…or Norway…or Russia. But Iceland seems like an ideal place. Plus, there’s a Taco Bell there… <ducking>
If you’ve been to Iceland to visit the Northern Lights, was it worthwhile?
+1 on the TB!
or canada?
Indeed.
I am told that in Alaska March is one of the best times to go. Fairbanks area is a good location “under the dome.”
I have experienced Iceland and was lucky to see the Northern lights three days ago by boat after waiting for one hour patiently. It was worth all the money,time and cold to see it for the first time and moments like this can happen one time in your lifetime. I will recommend to see it by boat
You had me at Taco Bell.
Also, if you can hold off until April, it looks like Lufthansa is selling first class tickets around $6000.
BA has a sale to Iceland from Toronto, business class, for about $2,200 USD.
And I ate at that Taco Bell 🙂
Yes!! Definitely worth it!
Yes, definitely worth it. We just returned from a trip to Iceland and were lucky enough to see the northern lights 3 days out of the 10 we spent there. Iceland is beautiful and so is their people.
On my BL too. The risk is that weather conditions will dictate visibility.
Friends were in Norway last November, it rained the whole time so cloud cover ruined it for them. The upside was that they had seen the Aurora before, so they were focusing on different experiences that time.
I think you should be well aware by now most of this science is bogus. These scientists are incompetent idiots who talk shit through their wazoo.
Only white Republican male lawyers know everything about everything. So i really suggest you don’t listen to these stupid scientists.
Is this the real Debit or the fake Debit?
Sarcasm not a strong suite of yours?
Most humans are born with humility so when things are told in extreme you know it can’t be right. So when trump never, ever, ever admits he is wrong you know he is a bloody incompetent moron.
Sarcasm relies on taking a position of extreme. So much so that it sounds improbable to most “normal” humans. Except the trump worshippers who probably think what I wrote is the truth.
Sarcasm meet sarcasm. Love you Debit.
Highly recommend driving from Reykjavik to Akureyri. (I’m not far from you in countries visited – that drive was one of the decade’s highlights)
Been to Iceland twice. An awesome experience even without the lights. Iceland is overcast much of the time so somewhere else may give you better odds. I’d recommend the western fyords if you want a really spectacular, off the beaten path, experience.