Northern lights in Vesterålen tonight

Bleik is a small village on the northwest coast of Andøya, facing the open Norwegian Sea. A prominent sea stack - Bleiksøya, 165 m - rises from the water 1 km offshore, giving a foreground element that appears on the horizon from the beach. The long north-facing beach gives an unobstructed arc in all northern and northwestern directions. No light pollution reaches the horizon from the north, west, or northwest. Bortle Class 2 throughout. The beach is accessible year-round on the paved island road; from Sortland, allow around 1.5 hours via the Andøya bridge and Route 82.

Andøya Space (formerly Andøya Rocket Range) is Norway's primary sounding rocket launch facility, regularly launching scientific payloads that study the upper atmosphere and aurora activity directly. The surrounding north coast of Andøya is flat, largely uninhabited, and faces open Arctic Ocean. The facility runs guided northern lights tours during the aurora season that include access to viewing areas on the coastal plain. Bortle Class 2 throughout the surrounding coastline. The facility is 1.5 hours from Sortland by road and around 5 km south of Bleik.

Stø is a remote fishing village on the northern tip of Langøya, reached by 28 km of coastal road from Myre. At the village, the sea opens in three directions - north, west, and east - with no significant land on any horizon except the low Vesterålen islands to the south. The village has around 100 residents and no commercial lighting beyond a few streetlamps, easily avoided. Bortle Class 2 throughout. From Sortland, allow 55 minutes via Myre; the road is paved but narrow in sections, so drive carefully in winter conditions.