There seems to be an certain age when children engage with and better understand the phenomenon that is the aurora borealis.
We’ve heard two comments from our children when they happened to be awake mid—aurora display:
‘Wow… look at that Christmas Tree!’
‘Ah Dad, it’s just the northern lights…’
What we’ve found so far is that at around six/seven years old, the concept of what is actually happening helps bring some understanding to why it is being seen.
So we put it to the test with a few questions:
What is the aurora borealis?
Wonderful lights sometimes seen at night, all sorts of colours in the sky, especially green and purple, which can be seen for many miles. They are beautiful.
What causes the aurora?
The northern lights are caused by solar storms, which travel from the sun and collide with the invisible shield around the earth.
When’s the best time to see the aurora?
Winter is the best time as it’s very dark with long nights.
Where are the best places to see them?
Finland, Iceland and lots of other cold countries which are in or near the Arctic circle.
What was your favourite aurora experience?
In Iceland - we stayed up and looked outside to see a massive display going on - we sat in the hot tub and watched it. It faded away and we were lucky that it came back again.
Not bad for a seven year old!
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