IT’S the most amazing free show on earth and a regular in the “top ten things to see before you die” lists, but in ancient times the Northern Lights had magical effects; they were the energies of the souls of the departed.

This winter has seen the finest spectacle of Aurora Borealis in half a century and The Press had a ringside seat last week when the dancing green lights put on an extraordinary display in the skies above Karesuvanto in Finnish Lapland.

The lights are at their most dramatic during times of high solar activity and this year has seen the best “solar maximum” since the 1950s, when the lights were seen as far south as Mexico.

Steeped in mysticism and there one minute, gone the next, seeing the Northern Lights is a magical experience.

• Don’t miss The Press on Wednesday for full coverage of the Northern Lights trip to Lapland.