Aurora Over Iceland - February 2004

Home Page | Astrophoto Home Page

Click on images for larger views

Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights are the result of interaction between charged particles from the Sun and the Earth's upper atmosphere. The Earth's magnetic field concentrates auroral activity in rings around the magnetic poles as seen in the auroral activity maps on the web site of the Space Environment Center (SEC) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Although Iceland is virtually always in the zone where the Northern Lights are visible, a lot of luck is necessary to see or photograph them on a short trip as they depend on both high solar activity and good Icelandic weather.

These photos were taken from the town of Saudarkrokur in northern Iceland over the period Feb. 13-15. Exposures were about 20 seconds each on Kodak PPF 400 and Fuji 800 35mm negative film using a 35mm f/3.3 lens.