Stunning display of Northern Lights over Reykjavik, Iceland to stream live on Facebook

Published 1:49 pm Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Tonight (Wednesday, Sept. 28), Iceland will be experiencing intense Northern Lights activity, with brilliant green lights illuminating the skies. There will be dazzling displays over much of the country, and for those who can’t be there to see it, travel planning site TripCreator will be broadcasting the show live on Facebook, beginning at 5:30 Eastern time on September 28.

The city of Reykjavik will even be taking the extra step of shutting off the city street lights for the Northern Lights, which it has only done on a few rare occasions when the Aurora has been exceptionally strong. The lights will be off from 10pm-11pm, which will make the Aurora more visible against the dark sky.

Though more than 1 million people visit Iceland every year, only certain lucky tourists see the Northern Lights. The Aurora Borealis, a phenomenon in which colored lights dance in the night sky, require specific circumstances for viewing. There must be solar activity, as the lights of the Aurora are actually collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth’s atmosphere. A clear night without heavy cloud cover is also required. The lights are most visible in dark areas away from light pollution, but when they are particularly strong they can easily be seen dancing over the capital city, Reykjavik.

For the last few nights, the lights have been so strong that they have been seen bright and clear over most of the country, with tourists and locals stopping in the streets to gaze skyward. According to astronomer, Sævar Helgi Bragason, the earth is passing through a stream of solar wind, which makes for intensely strong lights. “Right now, the earth is within a stream of particles from a giant hole in the sun’s atmosphere, which is called a corona,” he said. With the Aurora activity being most active tonight (September 28) TripCreator will be live-streaming the show over the city via Facebook Live.

According to Bragason, tonight’s lights will be exceptionally powerful, so as long as the sky is free of clouds, the Aurora should be visible throughout the city.

TripCreator will be filming from a rooftop overlooking Reykjavik starting at 9:30pm GMT, (5:30 Eastern time) streaming the anticipated Northern Lights show via Facebook Live. Visit https://www.facebook.com/tripcreatorcom/ to watch as the lights to make their dazzling appearance.