Father Christmas Letters: 1926

[Formendacil]

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

That drawing and the Rory Bory Aylis part of the story makes me think that Tolkien might have seen the real northern lights.

However, I wasn't aware that one could see them in England. I've seen them, both coloured and white, on a summer night and in the "the days between the years" but that was considerably farther north than I am now. Does anyone know if the northern lights can be seen in England? Tolkien was quite familiar with the night sky and the constellations.

I don't know if topography or climate is a consideration in seeing the "Rory Bory Aylis," but if it's simply a question of latitude, you can see the Northern Lights in Edmonton, Alberta and even a couple hundred kilometres south--and a quick glance at Wikipedia informs me that Edmonton is the same latitude as Manchester, England or Hamburg, Germany--so I'll assume it's not impossible to see them in England... though an Englishman would be a better authority than this Canadian as far as that goes.

...and a cursory glance at Wikipedia's article on the Aurora Borealis suggests that England *is* in visual range, though I've no idea of the frequency.