The chance of seeing the northern lights decreases the further south you go in the country, approximately at the latitudes around Stockholm and Gothenburg. In Kiruna it is visible almost every night.
Urban Brändström is an aurora researcher at the Institute for Space Physics in Kiruna and he says that the probability of the aurora varies with solar activity.
Several years of maximum northern lights
Now we are entering a period that means great opportunities to see the northern lights in the sky, a period of great solar activity that lasts for a few years.
– If you want to see beautiful northern lights, you should take care now as we enter a period of solar maxima that will then decrease until 2030 and turn to the next solar maximum around 2035.
Can lead to dangers in society
It has become popular to spot the northern lights and is a major tourist attraction in northern Sweden and above all in Abisko. But it is not only beautiful and can also mean problems for people.
The northern lights are caused by activities (solar storms) that explode on the surface of the sun. When they are aimed at the Earth, charged particles are ejected and create the aurora borealis.
– This means lots of beautiful northern lights and strong solar storms that can lead to power outages somewhere in the world, says Urban Brändström.