The desire to see the northern lights seems to create a strange mixture of excitement and anxiety amongst many travelers to Iceland. The latest effort to help people catch the northern lights is the new northern lights app ´Live Aurora Network´which is available both for Android and iOS smartphones.

Northern lights forecasts may not be enough

The northern lights app is simple. It gives you access to live broadcast from several Sony A7SII cameras which are located around Iceland. You can also sign up for notifications if northern lights are detected. According to a press release from Live Aurora Network the northern lights app was born out of the frustration of the founders and brothers Steve and Tony Collins. The were chasing the northern lights and despite having great forecast no lights appeared in the sky.

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Camera 3 just detected northern lights in Iceland!
Camera 3 just detected northern lights in Iceland!

High tech help for northern lights chasers

That frustration was enough for them to create the northern lights app. They built recognition software which could detect the northern lights and found cameras which were powerful enough for this project. They ended up choosing the Sony A7SII cameras which have to be protected against the elements and kept sufficiently warm. The purpose of the Live Aurora Network is to help travelers (and presumably the Collins brothers themselves) to maximize their changes of seeing the northern lights.

Northern lights beamed to you live

Currently there are four cameras active. There are plan to add more cameras and cover the entire ring road around Iceland.

Locations of cameras on the look out for northern lights.
Locations of cameras on the look out for northern lights.
  • Camera 1 directly over looks the famous Eyjafjallajökull volcano that caused chaos with air traffic in 2011
  • The second camera looks over Iceland’s biggest fresh water lake in Thingvellir national park
  • Camera 3 looks over a lake and mountain range that feeds directly in to the Greenland Sea
  • The fourth camera is directly under a beautiful mountain range in West Iceland

All cameras are located within driving distance of the capital Reykjavík and if lights are detected you will be directed to the right location. Apparently the plan is to cover the entire ring road. Good luck finding the northern lights, I really hope this northern lights app helps!

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Tags #Northern lights #Northern Lights and Stargazing in Iceland