✦ LIVE FROM ICELAND
Northern lights webcams
Two cameras pointed at the sky over Hella, South Iceland, refreshing while you watch. On a dark, active night the aurora often shows up here before anyone outside has noticed it — and whatever the sky is doing, this is the quickest honest look at it you will find.
Press Watch live for the stream.
Press Watch live for the stream.
Both cameras are operated by Landhotel in Hella, South Iceland, and are shown here with their permission. Times on the image are Icelandic time, which is UTC all year.
Getting the most out of them
- They see more than your eyes do. A camera gathers light over a long exposure; your eyes cannot. These will often pick up an arc while it is still faint overhead — so when green appears here, it is worth stepping outside.
- Cloud shows up instantly. The aurora sits far above the weather, so one glance tells you whether the sky over the south is open — no interpretation needed, you are just looking at it.
- Keep a tab open. Substorms build and fade within minutes, so the cameras reward coming back. A quiet sky can turn into the best display of the night in the time it takes to finish dinner.
- The clock is UTC. Iceland keeps the same time all year, so the stamp in the corner is both Icelandic local time and UTC.
Why these two are worth a bookmark
Landhotel sits in open farmland on Route 26, well away from both Hella and Hvolsvöllur, so there is almost no ground light anywhere in these frames — which is exactly what you want from an aurora camera, and the reason the faint stuff shows up on these at all.
Two angles, wide enough to catch a band wherever it forms, running right through the season. They are free, they need no account, and you do not have to be in Iceland to use them: on a good night this is a front-row seat from anywhere in the world.
Questions
Where are these northern lights webcams?
Both are at Landhotel, on Route 26 in the farmland north of Hella in South Iceland, about 90 minutes from Reykjavik. The hotel sits away from any town, so there is very little ground light in the frame.
Can the camera pick up the aurora before I can?
Often, yes. A camera collects light over a long exposure while your eyes cannot, so an arc that is only just becoming visible overhead can already read clearly on screen. That makes these cameras a genuinely useful early warning on a night that looks quiet from the doorstep.
What time is shown on the image?
Icelandic time, which is UTC all year — Iceland does not change its clocks. The stamp is burned into the frame by the camera itself.
Can I look back at earlier nights?
Yes. Landhotel keeps timelapses from previous nights on their own webcam page, so if you missed a good display you can still watch it play back.
Can I watch the northern lights live from abroad?
Yes — that is what these are for. Press Watch live on either camera and you get the hotel’s stream, wherever you are. Iceland is dark enough for aurora from roughly mid-August to late April; in midsummer there is nothing to see at any hour.