This is a good year to see the Aurora Borealis

Aurora expert Mike Kosch thinks 2012 will be a great year to view the magnificent Aurora Borealis because the sun has a cycle around 12 years long, during which the number of sunspots – dark areas indicating intense magnetic activity – go up and down. More sunspots mean more particles being ejected and trapped in the Earth’s magnetic field, and thus more aurora activity. Solar maximum – when the number of sunspots is at its peak – is predicted to be in the next couple of years, which means we are in a very good position to be viewing auroras.

BBC lists places in Scandinavia and U.K. where one can see the Aurora, where to stay and how to get there.

If you’re in Iceland then make sure to purchase our guide for Kindle and Nook – Seven days around Iceland’s Ring Road – for all the details and information on what to do, where to stay, what to see and how to go to around the places on the Ring Road in Iceland.

[Image source: BBC, John McConnico/Associated Press]