The Northern Lights by the numbers

The Northern Lights by the numbers:
- 240:
- Nights per year the aurora is visible in the central Northwest Territories
- 50:
- Nights per year it's visible in the High Arctic
- 1:
- Nights per year it's visible in Los Angeles
- 24:
- Hours per day that the aurora is active
- 80:
- Average elevation, in kilometers, of pale green auroras
- 400:
- Average elevation, in kilometers, or bright red auroras

- 200,000:
- Volts measured in auroras during intense magnetic storms.
- 3,000,000:
- Speed, in kilometers per hour, at which charged solar particles bombard Earth's atmosphere, setting off the aurora
- 1,500:
- Frequency per year that those bursts of particles hit the Earth
- 11:
- Number of years between peaks in auroral activity
- 1616:
- Year in which Gallileo Galilei coined the name “aurora borealis”
- 1958:
- Year in which North America experienced an aurora so massive it was seen in Mexico City
(Keen to see the Lights in person? Check out our Aurora adventures.)