In the Arctic, January is a time of renewal as the sun reappears above the horizon but it can be very, very cold indeed. These are probably the three most popular months for Aurora hunting because they bring long dark nights and plenty of snow to play in during the daylight hours while you wait for darkness to fall. This means the images captured are generally a lot more colourful than what we see with the naked eye. A digital camera can take a long single image exposure of the Aurora and therefore capture a lot more data in the darkness, much more than our eyes capture. When observing the Aurora with your naked eye, the colours will differ slightly from the image that a digital camera captures. Different gases prevail at different altitudes and in varying concentrations and it is the collision which “excites” these gases that determines the colour of the Aurora. The main factor in determining the colours of any given display is the altitude at which the solar particles collide with gases in our atmosphere. There is further research to suggest that more significant solar events occur in the declining period following Solar Maximum which increases your odds of seeing a display from our destinations. Generally speaking, the Aurora Borealis will remain very active for two to three years either side of Solar Maximum which effectively means we’re heading into the period of maximum activity. The Northern Lights are more prevalent during Solar Maximum, the last of which occurred in June 2014. Our Sun goes through an activity cycle that lasts approximately 11 years and sees it pass through Solar Maximum (highest solar activity) and Solar Minimum (lowest solar activity). The Solar Cycle - Solar Maximum/Solar Minimum
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