All light on the night...

THE NORDIC SKY'S THE LIMIT ON A HUNT FOR THE NORTHERN LIGHTS

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AS BUCKET-LIST experiences go, seeing the Northern Lights ranks pretty high.

Yes, there have been a few recent sightings in the UK, but for a really impressive display there's nowhere that tops Scandinavia and the Nordic countries.

For anyone planning a Northern Lights trip, we've got some top tips from the team at Best Served Scandinavia, specialists in Northern Lights holidays, from when to go, where to stay and what to pack.

What causes the Northern Lights?

The Northern Lights are caused by electrically charged particles ejected from the sun colliding with gases in the Earth's atmosphere at very high speeds.

No two displays are identical, and they can vary significantly in terms of brightness and intensity, lasting from a few minutes to several hours.

Modern cameras are better at capturing colours than the human eye, which is why the lights appear more vibrant on photographs.

They are most commonly seen as green, but at very high latitudes, rarer red auroras occur while at lower latitudes, you can see pink, purple and blue.

Where can you see them?

They usually occur in the auroral oval, a ring-shaped region covering much of Scandinavia and the Nordic countries.

These include Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, the Shetland Islands, northern Canada and Alaska.

When is the best time to see them?