Northern Lights Forecast for Tampere

Northern Lights in Tampere

Tampere sits on an isthmus between two lakes at 61.5°N, about 160 km north of Helsinki. Näsijärvi, the larger lake, lies north of the center, and the Tammerkoski rapids drop 18 m through the middle of town into Pyhäjärvi on the south side. That layout is the useful thing here: the southern shore of Näsijärvi looks north over open water, so a low arc stands clear above the lake instead of behind rooftops. A faint band in the north can show on a moderately active night; a G1 minor storm or a G2 moderate storm is what puts color overhead.

Rauhaniemi and the Näsijärvi shore

Rauhaniemi, on the shore in Lapinniemi just east of the center, is the city’s public bathing place, open since 1929 with a sauna that runs all year, and it faces north across the lake. Kauppi and Niihama, the forest and sports park further east along the same shore, have the same view, and Yle has run reader photos of the aurora from Kaupinmetsä. In the bigger storms the city’s south side works too: Yle has also run photos of the aurora over Pyhäjärvi, and sightings have come from Härmälä in the south of the city.

Seen from the city shore, a display often looks gray to the eye while a phone in night mode records pink and green; see the guide to photographing the aurora with an iPhone.

Teisko’s bays and Seitseminen’s old forest

Tampere Ursa, the local astronomy club, told Yle that 30 to 40 km out of the city is what it takes to see the sky properly. Teisko, the rural northern part of the city along Näsijärvi, is where the shoreline breaks into bays and islands, and reader photos have come from Maisansalo there. Sightings have also come from Haralanharju in neighboring Kangasala. Seitseminen National Park, about 50 km north in Ylöjärvi and Ikaalinen, has old-growth forest and no town anywhere near it.