A popular Finnish myth tells of a magical arctic firefox (“tulikettu” in Finnish) with a large furry tail that would sweep across the Arctic fells and tundra, creating sparks that lit up the sky or “fire foxes” which the northern lights are known as in Finland.

For anyone who has had the priviledge of seeing the Aurora Borealis (or the Aurora Australis in the southern hemisphere), you can imagine that sweeping tail. The aurora seems to be dancing above your head, all around you.

The aurora is best seen at night from autumn to spring but is never guaranteed. You can get a clear night, but the geomagnetic fluctuations (measured by a magnetometer over a 3 hour period and rated as KP index from 0 to 9 with 9 representing the most intense geomagnetic storm) are not sufficient to create the northern lights. The Kp-Index – derived from the German “Planetarische Kennziffer meaning “Planetary Index” – is a measure of geomagnetic activity in the Earth’s atmosphere. Similarly, you could have the perfect conditions, with a high KP index rating but have an overcast night and you won’t get to see the lights.

We are staying in a log cabin on the edge of a lake for 3 nights just outside Inari, really hoping we get to see the northern lights but the weather forecast is not looking good.

Still, fingers crossed…. Inari is pinned on my Aurora app, showing the forecast % cloud cover by the hour and KP index for the next 24 hours. Using that app and AccuWeather to see the actual cloud cover and rain movements, my alarm clock is set for 10pm when the rain clouds are meant to clear, 3am and 4am when a KP index of 5 is forecast!

After an unexpected beautiful clear day, the massive rain front coming up from the south is making its way up to us very fast and suddenly, the sky is completely overcast. Not looking good for a sky show later tonighth. Oh well, time for a sauna then.

The predicted rain arrives on cue, still raining as 10pm approaches. Ever the optimist, I walk outside just after 10pm – the stars are visible!! There are some clouds still. Clouds? No, clouds don’t move so fast and eratically. It is a faint aurora! Anthony has to see this. By the time we are both outside, the aurora colours are clearly visible through the phone even if not strong to the naked eye. And the sky is dancing!

What a show we get.

An hour later, we call it a day and decide to catch some sleep before 3am. The activity is much stronger and the aurora is moving quite fast, making it very difficult to capture on our mobile phones – these blurry photos do not justice to what nature put on for us that night.

By 4am, the sky was overcast but the KP index strong enough to show the strong aurora activity. What would have the sky looked like without that cloud cover!

Nature has a way of making you feel insignificant and grateful to be alive to witness such beauty.

– Anne