Have you ever looked up at the sky and wondered what's going on up there? Up there. Up through the clouds. Have you ever wondered what the moon is made of? Why the stars twinkle? What it feels like to be an astronaut living in space? Harry and Halle have lots of questions about the night sky, and this is their hunting the northern lights story.
It happens in Lapland, which is in a country called Finland. Harry and Halle have come to this beautiful northern land at the top of the world for a very special adventure. They've travelled with their dads from Scotland to hunt for the northern lights.
What's another name for the northern lights?
Aurora borealis.
That's right. Can you say it?
Aurora borealis.
What is the aurora borealis? Do you know?
Yes, it's like a big light with all different colours inside.
Harry is right. The northern lights are a magical display of colours that light up the sky at night. To see them it has to be very dark. If it's too cloudy, you won't see them at all. But one place you can always see the northern lights from is space. Wow!
The best place on Earth to see them from is the cold and frosty north where Harry, Halle and these husky dogs are now. But it's not dark enough yet to go aurora hunting.
Do you think we should have a shot on the huskies?
Yeah!
HUSKIES BARK
Here in Lapland, people sometimes travel on special sledges pulled through the snow by strong husky dogs. What an exciting way to travel!
That was awesome!
Shall we sit by the fire, get some lunch and get warmed up?
Yeah!
It might only be lunch time, but it's about to get dark in Lapland. In winter, the sun starts to set here just after midday. Lapland is in the far north where, in the winter months, the sun shines on this part of the world for a very short while each day. It's looking a bit cloudy. Will they see the northern lights tonight? Harry and Halle don't have to wait too much longer to find out.
It's night-time at last. Halle and Harry are all wrapped up, ready to start their aurora hunt. They travel to meet Andy. He has one of the best jobs in the world. He is an aurora hunter!
Follow me and I'll show you a great place to see some auroras.
Andy is taking Harry and Halle to a traditional Finnish tent, or lavvu, which is a great place to wait to see if you can spot auroras.
We're not going to see the auroras tonight, because we have got a lot of cloud. But we'll see it another night.
What a shame. No auroras tonight. It's time to get warm inside the lavvu instead.
Tell me what you know about the northern lights.
They've got lots of colours.
Do you know where they come from, the aurora borealis? Think of somewhere a long way away from here up in space where you think the aurora might start from. I'll give you a clue.
The sun!
Yes! It's the sun.
So basically, the sun makes something called a solar wind and the solar wind travels towards the Earth and when it reaches the earth and the North Pole, it makes a very special light called the northern lights, the aurora borealis. And sometimes they can be still and sometimes they can be very excited and dash across the sky.
Hopefully, Harry and Halle will see it tomorrow, the second night of their aurora hunt.
Are you ready to go aurora hunting?
Yeah!
We've got a reasonable solar wind and some holes in the cloud. Shall we go?
Yeah!
Fingers crossed. Come on, let's go.
You light the skies up above me
Don't close your eyes…
Would you like to come and see the aurora borealis?
This is the moment they've all been waiting for!
You can see a very faint light above the hill there. That's the aurora.
Look! An aurora!
Can you see green, Harry?
Yeah. I can see it, it's getting a wee bit stronger.
It's quite a wee bit lighter from the shed.
Would you like to take some pictures underneath the aurora borealis?
Yes.
ALL: Aurora borealis!
What a happy bunch of aurora hunters. After a magical night, the team settle in at Andy's studio to look at some more pictures of the aurora borealis.
What do you like about this picture?
The wee curve in the aurora.
Above the house?
Yeah.
That wee green bit there, and it's got that wee twisty bit. It's a wee bit like a sweet.
A sweet wrapper?
Yeah.
Halle, what do you think of this picture?
It's like a circle cos it's a green bit and then it's a purpley bit and that makes it like a circle. It's a reddy-purple colour.
It is, yeah.
Kids, do you want to thank Andy for the lovely time we've had chasing the aurora?
Thank you, Andy!
You're very welcome.
Seen the Aurora!
Shall we go outside once more and look at the night sky to see the aurora borealis?
Yes.
Come on, then, let's go.
The children have had an amazing adventure aurora hunting in Lapland.
Video summary
The northern lights are unpredictable and no-one knows when the lights might show.
They do not appear on the first night but the children do get to spend time in a traditional Finnish tent or lavvu.
The second night is much more successful; they spot the lights and even manage to have their photo taken under them.
Teacher Notes
This clip could be used to consider what the North Pole environment is like.
Explain to the pupils that Santa Claus is said to live in Lapland.
Ask the pupils to point on a globe to where they think Santa Claus is said to live.
Pupils could be taught that the top of the world is the North and the bottom is the South.
Show the clip and ask the pupils to think about why the children in the clip were wearing winter clothes.
The children could then be given a picture of Santa Claus in shorts and a T-shirt.
The children could also have a sheet of different types of footwear and clothing.
Pupils could select, cut out and stick on to Santa those items of clothing that would allow him to walk in the snow and keep his body and head warm in the cold climate.
This clip will be relevant for teaching Physics or Science.
This topic appears in KS1/KS2 in England and Northern Ireland and Early/1st/2nd level in Scotland.
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