Dancing lights of the Aurora

All northern areas of Russia, including Siberia, experience high degrees of Northern Lights, due to its close proximity to the Arctic Circle. The bright dancing lights of the aurora are actually collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth's atmosphere. The lights are seen above the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres.

Ultimately, like the weather, the Northern Lights are difficult to predict. Though estimations can be made and usually a day or two before occurring, predictions can be reasonably accurate. There are several important factors to consider, which all help to form the right conditions to see the Aurora Lights.

When the sun is directly over the equator, the Lights will appear the strongest. This is on or around March 20th and September 23th every year, though these are not the only days when it’s in the sky, just the peak of the Aurora season (when they’re most visible).

From February to April and August to October the Aurora are most viewable and even spill outside of those months if the conditions are right.

The best time to view the Aurora is when the sky is at its clearest. So during the New Moon, when the moon is least visible, there’s less light, making the sky as dark as possible.

All these shots were taken by a marine biologist Alexander Semyonov, who lives and works at the White Sea Biological Station.

The Kola Peninsula is right in the Northern Lights’ belt, close to northern Scandinavia, making it a perfect spot for watching. The city of Murmansk is popular with sky watching tourists.

But surely it's not the only place in Russia to admire the sightseeing Northern Lights.

Severodvinsk attracts travelers with some of the brightest northern lights in all of western Russia. Located near Arkhangelsk, it provides more opportunities to study this natural phenomenon than the region capital.

The best time to visit the Nenets Autonomous District (with the capital Naryan-Mar) to see the northern lights and to listen to the authentic myths and legends of the vanished city Pustozersk is in the early fall.

Nine miles away from Magadan the color of the sky changes dramatically – the entire sky lights up with a grass-green glow that is reflected in the snowdrifts.

Salekhard is the only city in the world that is located on the Arctic Circle and eventually it is famous for the Northern Lights.

Tixi, Khatanga, Dixon, Dudinka, Igarka, Novaya Zemlya and Wrangel Island are also suitable for those who desire to see the Northern Lights in Russia.