The residents of Edmonton have been celebrating after it was revealed that the northern lights are expected to be even brighter than normal this year.
While much of Canada gets to see the impressive show, which is also known as aurora borealis, those in Edmonton are known to have a particularly good viewpoint.
The spectacular phenomenon is caused by charged solar particles from the sun lighting up when they enter the Earth’s atmosphere - similar to what happens inside a neon light. Due to this year seeing some abnormal activity such as sunspots and solar storms, the lights are unusually impressive.
Though the lights can be seen in more southerly cities like Ottawa and Toronto, the closer someone gets to the northern magnetic pole the better the chance they will have to see them. In many areas, light pollution makes them difficult to view but not in Edmonton.
Autumn is often the best time of year to observe them, and they tend to start just before midnight. People should look for the lights in the eastern part of the sky, as they spread out west from there.
The University of Alberta has created a website called ‘Aurora Watch’, where visitors can go to find out when they will have the best chance to see them. Since 2009, the site has had more than 1,000,000 hits and the numbers are growing. Visitors come to the city from all over to see them, and postcard printing companies have produced souvenirs for people to take home or send to their friends.
