how often does the northern lights occure?
338617
the Aurora Borealis is an awe inspiring sight...lemme tell ya, they occur, as stated above at 11 year cycles. but can be seen almost nightly in higher latitudes. One family I know was so inspired by the mysterious lights in the Northern sky, they named their first daughter after them. Her name is Aurora Dawn
835366
The aurora borealis most often occurs from September to October and from March to April. They may be seen from anywhere in Northern Scotland. The 2nd link provided will provide you with up to date forecasts of Aurora activity and the 3rd an e-mail messenger service for imminent Aurora activity and from where it may be seen in the UK. Hope this all helps.\n\nThe aurora is a common occurrence in the ring-shaped zone. It is occasionally seen in temperate latitudes, when a strong magnetic storm temporarily expands the auroral oval. Large magnetic storms are most common during the peak of the eleven-year sunspot cycle or during the three years after that peak. However, within the auroral zone the likelihood of an aurora occurring depends mostly on the slant of IMF lines (known as Bz, pronounced "bee-sub-zed" or "bee-sub-zee"), being greater with southward slants.\n\nGeomagnetic storms that ignite auroras actually happen more often during the months around the equinoxes. It is not well understood why geomagnetic storms are tied to the earth's seasons when polar activity is not. It is known, however, that during spring and autumn, the earth's and the interplanetary magnetic field link up. At the magnetopause, Earth's magnetic field points north. When Bz becomes large and negative (i.e., the IMF tilts south), it can partially cancel Earth's magnetic field at the point of contact. South-pointing Bz's open a door through which energy from the solar wind can reach Earth's inner magnetosphere.\n\nThe peaking of Bz during this time is a result of geometry. The interplanetary magnetic field comes from the sun and is carried outward the solar wind. Because the sun rotates the IMF has a spiral shape. Earth's magnetic dipole axis is most closely aligned with the Parker spiral in April and October. As a result, southward (and northward) excursions of Bz are greatest then.\n\nHowever, Bz is not the only influence on geomagnetic activity. The Sun's rotation axis is tilted 7 degrees with respect to the plane of Earth's orbit. Because the solar wind blows more rapidly from the sun's poles than from its equator, the average speed of particles buffeting Earth's magnetosphere waxes and wanes every six months. The solar wind speed is greatest -- by about 50 km/s, on average -- around September 5 and March 5 when Earth lies at its highest heliographic latitude.\n\nStill, neither Bz nor the solar wind can fully explain the seasonal behavior of geomagnetic storms. Those factors together contribute only about one-third of the observed semiannual variation.\n\nThe sun gives off high-energy charged particles (also called ions) that travel out into space at speeds of 300 to 1200 kilometres per second. A cloud of such particles is called a plasma. The stream of plasma coming from the sun is known as the solar wind. As the solar wind interacts with the edge of the earth's magnetic field, some of the particles are trapped by it, and they follow the lines of magnetic force down into the ionosphere, the section of the earth's atmosphere that extends from about 60 to 600 kilometres above the earth's surface. When the particles collide with the gasses in the ionosphere they start to glow, producing the spectacle that we know as the auroras, northern and southern. The array of colours consists of red, green, blue and violet.
320123
Depends on the time of year.\nSummer solstice = 0\nWinter solstice = 24\nSpring/fall equinox = 12\n\nAll other days, some gradual change from 0 to 24. This is true of any land within the Arctic or Antarctic circles (of course the times are reversed for the Arctic circle). Those circles are defined by the places on Earth that have at least one day of complete light and complete darkness during the year.
71088
Ice ages are cyclic.  About every 40,000 nyrs.\n\nThe next one is in about 10,000.
15290
Not every latitude gets a minute every day. Some get more, some get less. But daylight starts increasing immediately, as the previous answer said.
42099
lightning occurs when warm air hits cooler air causing friction.  lightning during a snow storm is rare because warm air is harder to come by, however it happens occaissonally when a cold front follows a period of unseasonably warm weather.
12042
Lightning in snow falls is very rare but it does happen.
1040646
Northern parts of Alaska have six months of darkness, while the farther south you go, the less darkness.   I lived for a year on the northern tip of Baffin Island and the sun set on November 2 and didn't come up again until about February 4.   I think that might bre about equivalent to the most northern part of Alaska.  \n\nThis link gives the information you need.
937430
Norway has 6 months of Daytime and 6 months of Night\nCertain portions of Antarctica and Arctic circle also have 8 months night and 4 months daytime\nFalkland Islands and Newfoundland have 4 months of Daytime and 8 months night
411859
Its rare, but it can lightening when it snows
971959
yup the same phenomenon is observed near the south pole, but it has a different name. it is called 'aurora australis'
135764
Magnetic pole reversals happen on average every 250,000 years.  Since its been over 700,000 years since our planet's last reversal, one may very well be underway right now.
828997
I believe you are referring to the changes in the seasons.  Because the rotational axis of the earth is tilted a bit more than 23 degrees away from it's orbital plane the earth gets a bit more in the way of the sun (so to speak) as winter approaches so sunrise is a bit later each day, and sunset a bit earlier.  After the winter solstice less and less of the earth is in the way, so sunrise starts a bit earlier each day, and sunset a bit later, until the summer solstice.  Interestingly dusk is longer in the winter because the sun rises and sets at more of an angle to the horizon.  For the same reason, in the tropics dusk is shorter because the sun rises and sets more nearly vertical.  In the more northern part of the northern hemisphere and the more southern part of the southern hemisphere dusk may last all night long in the summer (culminating in the "midnight sun" north of the arctic or south of the antarctic circles).  In addition, due to the refraction of the atmosphere we see the sun earlier than actual sunrise and later than actual sunset (the atmosphere acts as sort of a lens).
447253
it happens more frequently then you think. lightening often strikes the same place
446990
Actually, there are no days at the north pole.  There is only day and night.  It is always day for about 5 months, and always night for 5 months.  The other 2 months are half day and half night, just like a regular day.\n\nHope this helps!
280203
you're talking about the aurora borealis (sp) otherwise known as Northern Lights. The farther north you are, the more likely you'll see them. Canada and even northern US can sometimes. You can probably look it up at http://en.wikipedia.org
650115
The aurora is a glow observed in the night sky, usually in the polar zone. For this reason some scientists call it a "polar aurora" (or "aurora polaris"). In northern latitudes, it is known as "aurora borealis" which is Latin for "northern dawn" since in Europe especially, it often appears as a reddish glow on the northern horizon as if the sun were rising from an unusual direction. The aurora borealis is also called the "northern lights". The aurora borealis most often occurs from September to October and March to April. Its southern counterpart, "aurora australis", has similar properties