Welcome to Polarcamp’s live camera. On this live video stream you get a high-quality real-time view of the night sky. It shows the Midnight Sun in summer and the Northern Lights in winter.

When can I see the Northern lights?
Short answer: At night, during winter!

Northern Lights are created by particles brought up by solar storms, which collide with our planet’s atmosphere. When hitting our atmosphere at a certain speed, they create a chemical reaction that we will see as Northern Lights. These space particles can reach our planet at any time. However, the light from the sun will outshine their light. Therefore, most Northern Lights are seen by late evening or at nighttime.

In Northern Norway, Northern Lights generally appear between 20:00 and 03:00 due to the planet’s position at that time. However, when solar storms are strong enough, it is possible to catch the aurora both earlier and later in the night. Especially in the middle of winter, when the sun never goes above the horizon in the arctic region. 

Why is Polarcamp a good place to see the Northern Lights?
Short answer: Because of the ideal geographical position!

When reaching our planet, the solar storm magnetic field will merge with the magnetic field of our planet, creating an “aurora circle” around the north and the south pole. The stronger the solar storm, the further the aurora circle expands. The KP index is a value used to evaluate how far that aurora circle is expected to expand at a given night. At KP 1, northern lights would only be visible closer to the North or the South pole. Although it does not happen often, a KP of 9 means that the aurora could be visible even from southern Europe, like in Germany or France.

Located at the 66e parallels, Polarcamp has the chance to reach the line of KP 3, allowing us to have visits from the green lady quite often. In addition, Polarcamp is located in an area far away from light pollution and with a stable climate. These factors are important since light pollution negatively affects the perceived intensity of the Northern Lights. In addition, a cloudy sky will simply block you from seeing them at all.

How to see dancing and colorful Northern lights?
Short answer: Come and visit us here in the north!

The KP index only indicates how far south (from the North Pole) it will be possible to see the Northern Lights. The shape, the brightness and the colors of the Northern Lights depend on other parameters of the solar storm: the speed and the density of protons in the solar storm, as well as how the Earth’s magnetic field will react to the solar storm magnetic field.

As we do not have control over mother nature, the best thing you can do is to simply get as far north as you can and with a bit of luck, you will get to see the Northern Lights. Some nights, it will look like a green arch crossing the sky. Other nights, it will be like a green flow all over the sky or a colorful curtain of dancing lights.

Read about other exciting experiences at Polarcamp and plan your stay here!