Iceland Travel Journal 冰島旅行日記 20 - 2019.10.18 Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) 北極光

Day 5's Notes 第五天的雜記

Most tourists can't wait to see the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) when they visit Iceland between September and April. I naively thought I could just step outside, look up, and boom—the lights would appear. That, of course, was the voice of a dreamer.

Seeing the aurora depends on so many factors, which is why my brother frequently checked the weather and aurora forecasts and adjusted our travel plans accordingly. It's often difficult to appreciate the lights with the naked eye; a camera with the right settings can "see" the lights more vividly and capture the experience better.

Despite my sister and I lacking the right equipment, and the forecast predicting very weak conditions, we thoroughly enjoyed the first night. We were able to make out the grayish clouds in the sky and enjoy the lights through my brother's camera. That's the definite advantage of touring with a pro!

The second night was truly exciting: we actually witnessed the lights moving and jumping with various intensities with our naked eyes. Seeing those lights captured on my compact camera (with the pro's help, naturally) was even more amazing. I just want to thank the Lord for the special blessing of having the opportunity to enjoy this phenomenon.

Here's a little anecdote: One evening, my brother announced it was time to see the aurora. He led us just outside our accommodation, set up the tripod, checked the location, and declared us ready. We happily watched the aurora for a while.

During that time, three separate cars sped away from our accommodation, only to return shortly after. They drove away again, and then, inevitably, came back a second time. They likely grew curious seeing us stay put in the same spot, because they finally stopped nearby and excitedly began taking pictures—and shouting loudly! That brief encounter perfectly illustrated the difference between having experience and not having experience when hunting the aurora.

大多數遊客在每年九月到隔年四月期間造訪冰島時，都迫不及待地想要一睹北極光。我天真地以為，只要走到戶外，抬頭仰望，砰！一下極光就會出現。當然，那只是個癡人說夢話。

能否看到極光取決於許多因素，真的是要天時，地利及人和。所以我弟弟經常查看天氣和極光預報，並據此調整我們的旅行路線及計劃。極光是很難從肉眼直接看到的，除非超強爆發的極光或是非常有經驗的人。但是一台設定對的相機可以更輕鬆自如地「看到」極光，更好地記錄下這一景象。

雖然我和妹妹沒有合適的裝備，而且天氣預報說極光條件很差，但我們還是非常享受第一晚。我們能夠分辨出天空中灰濛濛的雲層，並透過弟弟的相機欣賞到有色極光。這就是和專業人士一起旅行的絕對優勢！

第二個晚上真是令人興奮：我們親眼目睹了那些光芒移動、跳躍，亮度也各不相同。用我的傻瓜相機（當然，是在專業人士的幫助下）也能拍到極光的照片，感覺更加興奮。我真的想感謝讚美上帝，讓我有機會欣賞這番景象。

在這裏記錄ㄧ個小插曲。有一天晚上，我弟弟説該去看極光了。他帶我們走到住處外面，架起三腳架，檢查好位置，然後宣布一切就緒。我們興高采烈地欣賞了一會兒極光。

就在那段時刻中，有三輛車從我們住的地方疾馳而去，但很快又回來。沒多久它們再次駛離，然後不出所料地又回來了。它們大概是看到我們老待在原地，感到好奇，最後停在附近，興奮地開始拍照──還大聲嚷嚷！由此可看出追尋極光時，有經驗與沒經驗者的差異。

Photo Date: 2019.10.18 (Midnight)
All photos were taken by my brother.

Notes on the Aurora Phenomenon 關於極光現象的筆記

The bright, dancing lights of the aurora are caused by collisions between electrically charged particles released from the sun's atmosphere and gaseous particles in the Earth's atmosphere. These lights are seen above the magnetic poles:

Northern Lights: Called Aurora Borealis, seen in the Northern Hemisphere (e.g., Iceland, Norway, Canada).
Southern Lights: Called Aurora Australis, seen in the Southern Hemisphere (e.g., Antarctica, New Zealand, Tasmania).

The key difference is location, though stronger solar activity can make auroras visible at lower latitudes. Variations in color are due to the type of gas particles that are colliding.

The aurora's scale represents the degree of geomagnetic disturbance, with a total of ten levels. The higher the number, the more active and visible the aurora:

Level 1 and 2: May only have a faint brightness and be fleeting, making them hard to spot without a camera.
Levels 3 and 4: Generally considered active and a good time for viewing.
Level 10: If you are lucky enough to see a Level 10 aurora, it can be captured very clearly even with a simple phone camera.

極光明亮舞動的光芒是由太陽大氣層釋放的帶電粒子與地球大氣層中的氣體粒子碰撞產生的。這些光芒出現在磁極上方：