Northern Lights

Iceland has become the little nation that could. Despite an economic collapse in 2008, the island has bounced back on the tourism charts and made the cut of must-see 2013 destinations, according to both Lonely Planet and Frommer's .  So maybe it's time to go, especially to see the Northern Lights. Online discounter Zozi offers a five-day Winter Northern Lights Adventure for those who want to make like a Viking and experience the outdoor life. The tour is for two people with dates available through mid-May.

Here, in alphabetical order, are 10 places I'd like to see in 2013. Several are cities, one is a state, three are entire nations, and all have interesting things happening in the weeks and months ahead. Will I get to them all? Probably not. But if I did, in alphabetical order, come December, I'd be able to swagger into some stylish Seoul watering hole, possibly limping slightly from a sled-dog mishap under the northern lights, but gamely standing rounds and spinning yarns of Ecuadorean trainspotting and what I learned from the reenactors at Gettysburg, Pa. Would you listen?

Thanks to a powerful solar flare , the northern lights are on tour -- sort of. Locals and lucky travelers in Northern Ireland this week have seen the dazzling ribbons of color usually reserved for higher latitudes. The reason? Particles from the solar flare that have started to rain down on Earth also have made the lights, a.k.a. the aurora borealis, visible to more people. (The magnetic showers expected to last to midday Friday also have the potential to down power grids and interrupt communications, according to this National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration update .)

Iceland has become the little nation that could. Despite an economic collapse in 2008, the island has bounced back on the tourism charts and made the cut of must-see 2013 destinations, according to both Lonely Planet and Frommer's .  So maybe it's time to go, especially to see the Northern Lights. Online discounter Zozi offers a five-day Winter Northern Lights Adventure for those who want to make like a Viking and experience the outdoor life. The tour is for two people with dates available through mid-May.

Travelers in Alaska, Canada, the northern Plains, parts of the Midwest and much of the West tonight (Thursday) may be treated to a northern lights display more intense than usual because of the powerful solar storm hitting the Earth's surface, according to science and weather reports. The geomagnetic storm reached Earth about 5:45 a.m. EST Thursday. Scientists say the initial storm has been weaker than expected but may intensify later today. Northern lights trackers say tonight could bring a spectacular show to mid- and high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere.

Desperately seeking reindeer? Long after the Christmas season has ended, Travcoa leads a March tour of Finland and Sweden to see the real animals in their native Lapland. Participants on the 15-day Scandinavian trip meet the Sami, the indigenous people who herd reindeer, and learn some of their traditions by celebrating St. Maria's Day with them. Excursions via snowmobile, dog sled and even reindeer-pulled sleighs explore the arctic landscape. Highlights include crossing the Arctic Circle, spending a night in the famed Ice Hotel in Jukkasjarvi, viewing the northern lights too touring Helsinki, where the trip begins, and Stockholm, where it ends.

Times reader "jkunimoto" shot this photo of the aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, during a trip to Fairbanks, Alaska. "I was not able to see the aurora at its fullest, but I was still happy to see something," she said. Aurora borealis occur when atomic particles in the Earth's upper atmosphere strike atoms. This interaction causes light of varying wavelengths to be released, producing bands of color in a zone around the North Pole. The effect may be magnified during solar activity, such as during the solar flare in February . View past photos we've featured . To upload your own, visit our reader travel photo gallery . When you upload your photo, tell us where it was taken and when.

The northern lights bring fabulous streaks of greens, blues, yellows and pinks across the night sky in northern climes including Alaska, Canada, parts of the northern U.S. and Europe. Canadian outfitter Brewster Vacations offers a "quick escape" tour with two nights spent viewing the surreal color fest at Fort McMurray, an 1870 Hudson Bay Co. trading post in Alberta, Canada. Guests check out the town by day and then stay up late for guided viewing of the aurora borealis. Be prepared for cold and snow on this trip (warm clothes come with the package)

By W. S. Di PIERO Unhurt but still cheerless, alert on our green terrace to promise or grievance, waiting for a sign from the sky, a bestowal, or intelligence vouchsafed --that we could love without loss, or that love could save time spent loving-- we watched the swallows' tumbling flight, twilight's leafy dust trembling behind the chopped medieval towers.

Here, in alphabetical order, are 10 places I'd like to see in 2013. Several are cities, one is a state, three are entire nations, and all have interesting things happening in the weeks and months ahead. Will I get to them all? Probably not. But if I did, in alphabetical order, come December, I'd be able to swagger into some stylish Seoul watering hole, possibly limping slightly from a sled-dog mishap under the northern lights, but gamely standing rounds and spinning yarns of Ecuadorean trainspotting and what I learned from the reenactors at Gettysburg, Pa. Would you listen?

Desperately seeking reindeer? Long after the Christmas season has ended, Travcoa leads a March tour of Finland and Sweden to see the real animals in their native Lapland. Participants on the 15-day Scandinavian trip meet the Sami, the indigenous people who herd reindeer, and learn some of their traditions by celebrating St. Maria's Day with them. Excursions via snowmobile, dog sled and even reindeer-pulled sleighs explore the arctic landscape. Highlights include crossing the Arctic Circle, spending a night in the famed Ice Hotel in Jukkasjarvi, viewing the northern lights too touring Helsinki, where the trip begins, and Stockholm, where it ends.

The approaching winter and longer nights make this an ideal time to head north to visit one of nature's most amazing phenomena: the northern lights. And one of Canada 's national parks provides several ideal viewing locations within striking distance of creature comforts. Jasper National Park , (780) 852-6176, in west-central Alberta, is officially the largest “dark sky preserve” in the world. Such places - well away from urban lights - provide superb opportunities for stargazing and viewing the aurora borealis.

Travelers in Alaska, Canada, the northern Plains, parts of the Midwest and much of the West tonight (Thursday) may be treated to a northern lights display more intense than usual because of the powerful solar storm hitting the Earth's surface, according to science and weather reports. The geomagnetic storm reached Earth about 5:45 a.m. EST Thursday. Scientists say the initial storm has been weaker than expected but may intensify later today. Northern lights trackers say tonight could bring a spectacular show to mid- and high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere.

The northern lights bring fabulous streaks of greens, blues, yellows and pinks across the night sky in northern climes including Alaska, Canada, parts of the northern U.S. and Europe. Canadian outfitter Brewster Vacations offers a "quick escape" tour with two nights spent viewing the surreal color fest at Fort McMurray, an 1870 Hudson Bay Co. trading post in Alberta, Canada. Guests check out the town by day and then stay up late for guided viewing of the aurora borealis. Be prepared for cold and snow on this trip (warm clothes come with the package)

Times reader "jkunimoto" shot this photo of the aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, during a trip to Fairbanks, Alaska. "I was not able to see the aurora at its fullest, but I was still happy to see something," she said. Aurora borealis occur when atomic particles in the Earth's upper atmosphere strike atoms. This interaction causes light of varying wavelengths to be released, producing bands of color in a zone around the North Pole. The effect may be magnified during solar activity, such as during the solar flare in February . View past photos we've featured . To upload your own, visit our reader travel photo gallery . When you upload your photo, tell us where it was taken and when.

Thanks to a powerful solar flare , the northern lights are on tour -- sort of. Locals and lucky travelers in Northern Ireland this week have seen the dazzling ribbons of color usually reserved for higher latitudes. The reason? Particles from the solar flare that have started to rain down on Earth also have made the lights, a.k.a. the aurora borealis, visible to more people. (The magnetic showers expected to last to midday Friday also have the potential to down power grids and interrupt communications, according to this National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration update .)

NASA released findings Thursday that indicate magnetic explosions about one-third of the way to the moon cause the northern lights, or aurora borealis, to dance across the sky in spectacular shapes and colors. A fleet of five small satellites, called Themis, observed the beginning of a geomagnetic storm in February, while ground observatories recorded the brightening of the northern lights. A team led by UCLA scientist Vassilis Angelopoulos confirmed that the observed storm about 80,000 miles from Earth was triggered by a phenomenon known as magnetic reconnection.

Minutes before takeoff, the launch of a satellite designed to study the aurora borealis was called off Sunday after mission control detected a data problem. The launch of the Fast Auroral Snapshot Explorer by a Pegasus XL rocket was postponed at least 48 hours, a NASA spokesman said. The winged rocket had been carried over the Pacific Ocean by a modified L-1011 jet and was about 12 minutes away from launch when controllers detected "dropouts" in data transmitted from the satellite.

Radiation from the largest solar flare in four years is expected to reach the Earth Thursday and Friday, potentially interfering with communication and navigation satellites and disrupting ground-based communication networks and power grids. The rain of charged particles from the so-called coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, should also enhance the northern lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, making them both more prominent and visible farther south, perhaps even into the northern tier of the United States, experts said.

And the Oscar for the opening ceremony goes to . . . me? I was in the audience Friday, one of those human pixels waving flashlights and battery-powered candles. Just leave the statuette on my porch, thanks so much. How did I do it? You don't want to know. Let me just say that the press area I was in was pretty low-tech. What you did was write your story on your wrist. Then a volunteer in a blue jacket took a picture of it and sent it by dog sled on to the main media center back in Ottawa.