The way to Valhalla?
© Denis Belitsky/Shutterstock
You don't have to go all the way to Norway to see the aurora borealis, but it sure helps. Here amid fjords and fishing villages scattered over coastal islands, it's easy to imagine Vikings filing out of their longhouses in ancient times to marvel at the very same light show. The old Norse identified the aurora with the shining armor of Valkyries, mythical winged warrior women said to carry fallen soldiers to the afterlife. Modern science tells us it's really energized particles from the sun getting redirected toward the poles by Earth's magnetic field—but isn't it more fun to imagine a horde of departed berserkers carried off to Valhalla?