In the far north of Scandinavia, the Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, are nothing unusual and can sometimes be seen every winter night. Here in the south it’s something completely different.
The further south you go, the less common it is. The northern lights are still an extraordinary phenomenon, especially in southern Germany and Austria. Only in recent years has the likelihood of seeing one increased significantly. While it used to take decades before one could be seen again in southern Germany, in 2024 alone we had the opportunity to observe one several times, even in Austria and South Tyrol.
Extraordinary Northern Lights
An exceptionally strong Northern Lights could be observed across large parts of Europe on the evening of January 25, 1938. The daily newspapers of the time reported on this extraordinary phenomenon. The author of this report also remembers a description from his grandmother: “The whole sky was blood red… and then war soon came.” At that time, the Northern Lights were not viewed as a natural phenomenon, but rather as a bad omen. Just superstition. And people were afraid of it.
How strong is the northern light in the German-speaking south?
What we can see in our latitudes today in terms of northern lights is, compared to northern Norway, no more than a very weak imitation. In other words, it is extremely faint and can be perceived primarily as a dark red shimmer in the dark night sky. Sometimes you also have the feeling that the sky towards the north seems to be a little brighter than usual.
What is the best way to see the Northern Lights?
Unfortunately, the human eye is quite weak and can hardly perceive anything that we know from various Northern Lights photos from Instagram and Co from southern Germany.
Aid: camera
Cameras, on the other hand, are much more sensitive to light and are able to capture much more. However, they also take their time. If the Aurora Borealis is weak, up to 30 seconds of exposure time may be required. You also have to work with a high ISO value of up to four digits (in principle film sensitivity). Which value is needed depends on the camera and its quality. However, image noise increases with higher ISO values, so it should be as low as possible.
We would also like to point out that many cameras have problems with the distance setting on dark nights. It should be switched to manual. To focus, you can use a distant street lamp or a bright star, for example. Of course, you also need a tripod to take photos of the northern lights. You can also work with a remote shutter release or recording delay. This is the only way to get sharp images.
The finishing touches to the perfect Northern Lights photo can then be obtained using photo editing software. It usually plays a very important role in posted images.
What do you need to successfully observe the Northern Lights?
You can find out when Northern Lights can be expected here on relevant websites or using a mobile phone app. A good indicator of the visibility of northern lights is the so-called KP index. If this rises above 4, you should switch to alarm mode. So set up the flashlight, fully charge the batteries, prepare the tripod and the like.
Various webcams are also good indicators. In the past, the cameras from https://www.foto-webcam.eu/ have always been a valuable help. If the KP value rises above 6, you at least have the chance to see something very faintly in the sky and to be able to photograph weak northern lights. But things only get really exciting when the KP value rises above 7 or 8. Then you at least have a good chance of actually seeing something.
What is the most important thing?
In addition to a little luck and chance, you need one thing above all else. As dark an environment as possible! In the middle of a city you won’t have much chance. The darker a place is, the less light there is from it, near and far, the greater the chances.
Patience required
Even if the KP value is high, you never know whether you will actually be able to see the northern lights and for how long. The range goes from very weak for a few minutes to, at least in our case, relatively strong for hours. You can also imagine the northern lights as a cloud that constantly changes its size and shape.
In conclusion, one can say that the joy will be great if you actually see one. Then all the effort and even the freezing at an altitude of over 2000 m in winter are quickly forgotten.
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