Can aurorae occur as far south as Stockholm Sweden? 59° N.
I have often been asked that question and the answer is, of course it can, as
the pictures on these pages show. All the photos are shot around Stockholm.
How often does then aurora occur in the vicinity of Stockholm? The
aurora is most common in the far north of Sweden where it occurs almost
every night. The occurrence then decreases at lower latitudes and in
Stockholm it isn't very common. There must be some exceptional events
at the Sun to make it occur, because it's the Sun that powers the aurora.
The occurrences vary proportionally with the so called solar cycle at
low and mid-latitudes and therefore it's most common with aurorae in
the south part of the country near the maximum of this cycle. At that
time it can be as common as maybe twice a month. But to see it you
must look at the sky and it's often very cloudy, and when you have a
clear sky the light from the city and the roads makes it hard to detect
if the aurora isn't very strong and colourful.
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