Can you recommend the best way to travel to Norway to view the northern lights?

Simon Calder answers your questions on natural phenomena, trips to Guyana and how to explore the Silk Roads

On a cold, clear and dark winter’s night, the horizon fills with colour from intense greens and blues to soft pinks and silvers (Alamy)

Q My friend and I have tried twice to travel to Norway to see the northern lights. Both times the trip was cancelled. Can you recommend the best way to see the spectacle, travelling from north Wales?

Aileen

A When electrically charged particles emitted by the sun collide in their billions with the nitrogen and oxygen that make up most of Earth’s atmosphere, the results can be enchanting. The northern lights comprise an extraordinary phenomenon that, thanks to the transportational miracles of the modern age, many of us may see at least once in our lifetimes. On a cold, clear and dark winter's night, the horizon fills with colour from intense greens and blues to soft pinks and silvers. The bands dance in time with surges from the sun, illuminating frozen landscapes of the far north.