People who claim to hear the Northern Lights

If you want to hear the Northern Lights on your own, you may need to spend a considerable amount of time in the polar regions, as the sound phenomenon only occurs in 5% of violent auroral events. It is also heard most often on top of mountains, surrounded by only a few buildings – so it’s not a particularly accessible experience.

In recent years, the sound of the aurora has nevertheless been explored for its aesthetic value, inspiring musical compositions and laying the foundations for new ways of interacting with its electromagnetic signals.

Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds used extracts from the diaries of American explorer Charles Hall and Norwegian statesman Fridjtof Nansen, both of whom claimed to have heard the Northern Lights, in his music. His composition, Northern Lights, interweaves these connections with the only known Latvian folk song recounting the auroral sound phenomenon, sung by a solo tenor.

Or you can also listen to the Northern Lights radio signals at home. In 2020, a BBC Radio 3 program reprogrammed the very low frequency radio recordings of the aurora on the audible spectrum. While not the same as perceiving the audible noises produced by the Northern Lights in person on top of a snow-capped mountain, these sounds give an awe-inspiring impression of the transient, fleeting and dynamic nature of the aurora.

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