Iceland: A Symphony of Light

During my trip to Iceland, I loved watching the changes in the light across the sky, from before sunrise to the starry nights illuminated by the colorful northern lights and from dark and stormy skies to bright and colorful rainbows.

My Internal Clock

I grew up near the equator, where the length of day and night is always 12 hours, regardless of the time of year. At sunrise, the sun rises vertically and reaches its highest point at noon, directly overhead, with rays that don’t cast shadows.

In contrast, in late autumn in Iceland, the sun stays very low even at noon, reaching only 10.5 degrees above the horizon. Truly fascinating!

Sunrise

The sun seems reluctant to rise; yellow and orange tones form a soft line in the east.

At 8:30 AM, I started filming as the sun appeared on the horizon. I expected it to rise as I had always seen it—upwards—but instead, it moved almost horizontally, barely climbing into the sky.

How high does the sun get at noon?

Around 1:00 PM, the sun reaches its highest point.

Sunset

Then begins to descend, creating a long twilight filled with stunning colors.

The Northern Lights

I planned my trip in late autumn to witness the northern lights while still having enough daylight so that the days weren’t too short. It was also important to avoid a full moon so the sky could be as dark as possible. Every second of this experience was magical and wonderful.