Auroras are one of nature’s best gifts that Finland has. As per the Finnish Metrological Institute (FMI), auroras can be seen every other day in Lapland. The same web article mentions Kilpisjarvi among the most favourable places to see auroras. The cities in Lapland might give a good show from within the city itself. Yet it might be better to get outside the city limit as city lights may hamper the view. In other parts of Finland, the phenomenon is rare but not zero. Auroras can be occasionally seen even in Helsinki when the conditions are favourable. Solar winds are the major factor that causes these stunning lights to occur towards the earth’s poles. But two other things that are far more important are the time of the day and cloud cover. The lights are actually ignited throughout the day but are only visible when dark and when there are no clouds to obstruct the view. Here are some of the links that might be helpful in knowing, chasing, and capturing the auroras.

Know more about auroras

• ‘Auroras in Finland’ by Finnish Meteorological Institute
• ‘Auroras in Broad Daylight’ by NASA

Chase the auroras

FMI Space weather: Simple and effective. Higher bars or red in the charts mean higher chances. Preferably look for an observatory below your location.

aurorainfo.eu: Track the Bz. The lower, the better. Southern parts of Finland usually have a great show when the Bz values touch -15 or lower.

Aurora live cameras: Another easy way is to keep an eye on the live cameras from the various observatories across the region. Instead of going out in the cold to check, it might be a good idea to check if the lights are on from the warmth of your shelters.

Windy.com: Where are the clouds? Look for brown areas, which denote a clear sky, while white represents clouds. The wind direction on the maps can be used to guess the direction of cloud movement and accordingly plan your hunt.

Aurora Labs: Aurora Forecast: All-in-one mobile app. The coloured tiles provide an easy-to-interpret probability of seeing the aurora at your location. The green tiles indicate higher chances of seeing the lady in green while red indicates no chance.

Oulu Aurora Spotters: This Facebook group is pretty active in sending alerts whenever there is an aurora in Oulu’s skies. They also have a map of places in Oulu with less light pollution.

Aurora alerts in Finland: Another Facebook group with active members reporting aurora sightings across Finland.

SpaceWeatherLive: The Facebook page and the website provide regular updates about possible solar storms that can generate strong auroras.

Capture the auroras

• Aurora Hunter: How to Photograph Northern Lights
• ‘How to Photograph the Northern Lights?’ by Thomas Ulich
• ‘The Best Camera Settings For Northern Lights Photography’ by Rayann Elzein

The aurora hunters in Lapland

Lorenzo, Luisa and the Arctic Road Trips: They are based in Rovaniemi and conduct aurora hunting tours around Lapland. I had joined them during my visit in December 2021. Check out their Instagram page for some amazing captures.

Jasim Sarker and his Aurora Van: Another aurora hunter based in Rovaniemi. Though I haven’t travelled with him yet but have been following his work on social media for more than a year now. His photographs speak of what you are going to see if you tag along with him.

My captures

Ever since I moved to Finland, the auroras have amazed me every time I see them. Since in Kuopio, the occurrence is not as regular as in Lapland, I have learned and managed to capture timelapse videos of the show to replay them whenever I miss them. You can find the videos on my YouTube channel and on Instagram as reels. Below are three selected frames from the timelapse videos. You can also read about my first few experiences of seeing the aurora in another post on this blog. Click here to read!