Hunting the Northern Lights

In our region, we really don’t have to exert ourselves much if we want to see the Northern Lights. They can be seen while sitting at home, by just casting a casual glance out the window. And, it’s really not something people get themselves worked up about around here. It’s not a big deal. I imagine that people who live in a verdant tropical jungle probably don’t get very excited about the rare plants blooming all around them, either.

I should explain.

We live at the furthest edge of the inhabited world. If you take out a map of Russia and look in the top left corner, you will find the Kola Peninsula. Can you picture where Anchorage, Alaska is on the map? Now you’ve got the general idea, except Murmansk is in the Eastern hemisphere and 500 miles closer to the North Pole. And this is why for six months each year it is dark, cold, and you can easily see the Northern Lights.