Approaching Kangerlussuaq, Greenland

Total flying time from Ottawa to Kangerlussuaq: About 4 hours and 35 minutes

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Northern Lights (Arsarnerit) - (Aurora Borealis), Kangerlussuaq, Greenland

Observed from the deck of the M/V "Ocean Adventurer" from 10:50 p.m. to 11:15 p.m.

The belt of light
The northern lights can be experienced in several places in Greenland, and the spectacular lightshow is best viewed on a dark and clear night sky in the period from September to the beginning of April.

Kangerlussuaq – where most tourists arrive to Greenland – is placed right in the middle of the northern lights belt where the phenomenon is best experienced. Northern lights can only be viewed on dark and clear nights.

Even Greenlanders are often surprised by the fact that northern lights cannot be witnessed all over Greenland. The most densely populated regions have northern lights, causing people to just assume that it exists in the entire northern part of the globe. But that is actually not the case. The further north you get, the weaker the lights become, and finally they disappear altogether.

www.greenland-travel.com/about_greenland/northern_lights/

Greenlanders know northern lights as ’Arsarnerit’, which translates to 'those playing ball'. According to old Inuit myths, the northern lights appear on the sky when the souls of the dead are playing ball with walrus skulls.

Most people no longer believe the skull-playing theory, but that does not prevent people from whistling at the sky in an attempt to make the northern lights more vivid – which is promised by another myth. The strange thing is how often it actually works, but you must be careful that the northern lights do not reach down and grab you while you whistle at it.

In other cultures, it is believed that children conceived beneath the northern lights are more intelligent, which makes viewing the northern lights particularly wonderful for visitors belonging to these cultures.

The scientific explanation for the northern lights is that the electrically charged particles of the sun collide with molecules and atoms in the Earth's atmosphere at an altitude of approx. 100 kilometres. This collision results in an incredible phenomenon where 'curtains' of all colours flicker across the sky. Yellow, green, red, white – the colour of the curtains depend on your location. Regardless, the sight is spectacular.

In 1619, before he became a widely known scientist, Galileo Galilei invented the expression ’Aurora Borealis’, which roughly translates to 'the northern dawn'. But a similar phenomenon can actually be seen in the southern hemisphere. It is known as ’Aurora Australis’, or southern lights. Remarkably, it moves simultaneously with the northern lights.

© All Rights Reserved

Northern Lights (Arsarnerit) - (Aurora Borealis), Kangerlussuaq, Greenland

Observed from the deck of the M/V "Ocean Adventurer" from 10:50 p.m. to 11:15 p.m.

The belt of light
The northern lights can be experienced in several places in Greenland, and the spectacular lightshow is best viewed on a dark and clear night sky in the period from September to the beginning of April.

Kangerlussuaq – where most tourists arrive to Greenland – is placed right in the middle of the northern lights belt where the phenomenon is best experienced. Northern lights can only be viewed on dark and clear nights.

Even Greenlanders are often surprised by the fact that northern lights cannot be witnessed all over Greenland. The most densely populated regions have northern lights, causing people to just assume that it exists in the entire northern part of the globe. But that is actually not the case. The further north you get, the weaker the lights become, and finally they disappear altogether.

www.greenland-travel.com/about_greenland/northern_lights/

Greenlanders know northern lights as ’Arsarnerit’, which translates to 'those playing ball'. According to old Inuit myths, the northern lights appear on the sky when the souls of the dead are playing ball with walrus skulls.

Most people no longer believe the skull-playing theory, but that does not prevent people from whistling at the sky in an attempt to make the northern lights more vivid – which is promised by another myth. The strange thing is how often it actually works, but you must be careful that the northern lights do not reach down and grab you while you whistle at it.

In other cultures, it is believed that children conceived beneath the northern lights are more intelligent, which makes viewing the northern lights particularly wonderful for visitors belonging to these cultures.

The scientific explanation for the northern lights is that the electrically charged particles of the sun collide with molecules and atoms in the Earth's atmosphere at an altitude of approx. 100 kilometres. This collision results in an incredible phenomenon where 'curtains' of all colours flicker across the sky. Yellow, green, red, white – the colour of the curtains depend on your location. Regardless, the sight is spectacular.

In 1619, before he became a widely known scientist, Galileo Galilei invented the expression ’Aurora Borealis’, which roughly translates to 'the northern dawn'. But a similar phenomenon can actually be seen in the southern hemisphere. It is known as ’Aurora Australis’, or southern lights. Remarkably, it moves simultaneously with the northern lights.

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Peace Tower, Parliament Building, Ottawa, Canada

(Seen from the room window of the Fairmont Château Laurier Hotel --- Full moon was on August 26, 2018)

The Peace Tower, also known as the Tower of Victory and Peace is a focal bell and clock tower sitting on the central axis of the Centre Block of the Canadian parliament buildings in Ottawa, Ontario.

The present incarnation replaced the 180 ft Victoria Tower after the latter burned down in 1916, along with most of the Centre Block; only the Library of Parliament survived.

It serves as a Canadian icon and had been featured prominently on the Canadian twenty-dollar bill directly adjacent the queen's visage, until the change to polymer.

© All Rights Reserved

Northern Lights (Arsarnerit) - (Aurora Borealis), Kangerlussuaq, Greenland

Observed from the deck of the M/V "Ocean Adventurer" from 10:50 p.m. to 11:15 p.m.

The belt of light
The northern lights can be experienced in several places in Greenland, and the spectacular lightshow is best viewed on a dark and clear night sky in the period from September to the beginning of April.

Kangerlussuaq – where most tourists arrive to Greenland – is placed right in the middle of the northern lights belt where the phenomenon is best experienced. Northern lights can only be viewed on dark and clear nights.

Even Greenlanders are often surprised by the fact that northern lights cannot be witnessed all over Greenland. The most densely populated regions have northern lights, causing people to just assume that it exists in the entire northern part of the globe. But that is actually not the case. The further north you get, the weaker the lights become, and finally they disappear altogether.

www.greenland-travel.com/about_greenland/northern_lights/

Greenlanders know northern lights as ’Arsarnerit’, which translates to 'those playing ball'. According to old Inuit myths, the northern lights appear on the sky when the souls of the dead are playing ball with walrus skulls.

Most people no longer believe the skull-playing theory, but that does not prevent people from whistling at the sky in an attempt to make the northern lights more vivid – which is promised by another myth. The strange thing is how often it actually works, but you must be careful that the northern lights do not reach down and grab you while you whistle at it.

In other cultures, it is believed that children conceived beneath the northern lights are more intelligent, which makes viewing the northern lights particularly wonderful for visitors belonging to these cultures.

The scientific explanation for the northern lights is that the electrically charged particles of the sun collide with molecules and atoms in the Earth's atmosphere at an altitude of approx. 100 kilometres. This collision results in an incredible phenomenon where 'curtains' of all colours flicker across the sky. Yellow, green, red, white – the colour of the curtains depend on your location. Regardless, the sight is spectacular.

In 1619, before he became a widely known scientist, Galileo Galilei invented the expression ’Aurora Borealis’, which roughly translates to 'the northern dawn'. But a similar phenomenon can actually be seen in the southern hemisphere. It is known as ’Aurora Australis’, or southern lights. Remarkably, it moves simultaneously with the northern lights.

© All Rights Reserved