favorable to aurora displays is understand-
ing and monitoring the Kp- (or K-) index
once you’re there. The Kp-index is a 0 to 9
scale of atmospheric electromagnetic activ-
ity, with 0 being little or no activity (get
some sleep) and 9 being the most extreme
activity (don’t forget your sunglasses).
Many governments and scientific orga-
nizations issue regular Kp forecasts that
seem about as reliable as a weather fore-
cast—pretty good, but far from perfect.
There are many websites and smartphone
apps that will provide you with virtually
real-time Kp forecasts for your loca-
tion—some will even issue alerts.
Making It Happen
Armed with more knowledge than expe-
rience, Don and I followed our guide into
Iceland’s exquisite winter landscape with
visions of auroras dancing in our heads.
We were grateful that our guide was an
Iceland native and excellent photographer
with years of northern lights experience.
By day, we photographed all the win-
ter-accessible locations on Iceland’s
Snæfellsnes Peninsula and South Coast,
especially enjoying the two-hour sun-
rises and sunsets, courtesy of a sun that
never rose higher than 8 degrees above
the horizon. And by night we bundled up
and ventured into the frigid dark seeking
an electric light show.
For our nightly aurora hunt, we’d drive
to a location with a nice foreground, dark
skies and a clear view of the northern
sky. There we’d sit for a couple of hours
(sometimes longer), periodically wiping
the fog from the windows of our spacious
Suburban and occasionally stepping into
the cold darkness to scan the sky. Some-
times we’d take a test shot to check for
color our eyes couldn’t see.
We quickly learned the fickle, frustrat-
ing nature of aurora hunting. Nights with
potential were stifled by clouds; nights
with clear skies were Kp washouts. With
just two nights in Iceland remaining, I
started to feel a little anxious.
The final two nights would be spent
near Glacier Lagoon, a magnificent ocean
inlet dotted with floating icebergs, a
patchwork of thin ice and reflective water
that combined for an ideal foreground for
the northern lights.
The forecasts for Wednesday, our
penultimate night, were clear skies and
a 1 or 2 Kp index. Not great, but the
best weather/Kp combination of the trip.
And our guide assured us that even Kp 1can deliver an aurora, and Kp 2 can be a
very nice display. Pulling into the Glacier
Lagoon parking lot beneath a beautiful
star-studded sky, we saw no aurora. So
we waited.
Soon we saw what I declared a thin fog
forming above the lagoon, but the guide
insisted it was the beginnings of northern
lights, so we followed him down to the
shoreline. Dubious, I clicked a long expo-
sure and waited for the image to pop onto
my LCD. I was thrilled (understatement)
when my image revealed a distinct green
haze above the lagoon: My first view of
the northern lights!
We spent the next couple of hours
photographing that low-hanging green
haze, occasionally infused with hints of
red. That night’s aurora never rose more
than 20 degrees or so above the horizon,
and except for just a few minutes at its
peak, had no real definition. Little did I
know that the show that night was just a
warm-up for the next night’s experience.
The Kp forecast for Thursday night
was 4 or 5, which our guide promised
was perfect because anything more than
Kp 5 can be too bright. The weather was
a different story, and all we could do
was watch and hope as the clouds ebbedSony a7S II, Sony FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM at
16mm. Exposure: 8 sec., ƒ/2.8, ISO 6400.
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