Northern Lights Viewing Tips (2024)

FAQs

How can I guarantee to see the northern lights? ›

For the Northern Lights, the further north you travel, the more likely you are to catch a glimpse of them. The best place to go aurora hunting is above the Arctic Circle (66°33'N), which is why northern Norway and the Svalbard archipelago are some of the top places on earth to see the Northern Lights.

Head north anywhere near and above the Arctic Circle, and if the night sky looks clear and starry, you have a good chance of seeing the Northern Lights. Remember to get far away from bright lights and buildings. Hilltops and lakeshores make good vantage points.

The aurora often occur for a few glorious minutes at a time. A good display may last between 15 and 30 minutes, although if you're really lucky, it could extend to a couple of hours or longer. To see the Northern Lights, the sky needs to be dark and clear of any clouds.

How will I know if the Northern Lights will appear? But there are forecasts available. The Kp Index is generally considered the most accurate – it's much more reliable than the weather forecast.

The northern lights depend on a favorable solar weather forecast and also the right atmospheric conditions. They require a clear, dark, ideally moonless sky, a northerly latitude, and a lot of patience. They're better viewed in fall, winter, and spring, thanks to longer hours of darkness.

Blue auroras are rarer than green or red. They occur at lower altitudes, usually below 60 miles (100 kilometres).

You are more likely to see the northern lights in winter, between the months of October and April. This is because the night sky is darker in winter and there are fewer daylight hours.

In the U.S., that means you should look to the north. The top of a hill with a clear view toward the north should have a good chance of seeing the Northern Lights.

It must be dark: Go out at night. Get away from city lights. The full moon will also diminish the apparent brightness of the aurora (not the actual brightness). One caveat that people often neglect to think of is that the high latitudes where aurora occur are also latitudes where it doesn't get dark in the summer.

Where is it guaranteed to see the Northern Lights? ›

They're most easily viewed when skies are clear and dark, free from light pollution from cities and the moon. That makes Alaska and parts of Canada, which have long nights and ideal auroral latitudes, safe bets for viewing.

There's never a guarantee with seeing the Northern Lights, no. The first thing you need is to be sufficiently far north (obviously) to see them. A number of companies run tours out of Reykjavik, and I understand it's also possible to see them in parts of Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia.

That said, geomagnetic storms can occur at any time, so you can still see the northern lights during the solar minimum stage. The aurora borealis is unpredictable so even if you search for them during the solar maximum, sightings are not guaranteed.

15-45 Minutes: By measuring the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field upstream of Earth it is possible to forecast the aurora quite accurately but only with a short lead time of 15-45 minutes.

It must be dark: Go out at night. Get away from city lights. The full moon will also diminish the apparent brightness of the aurora (not the actual brightness). One caveat that people often neglect to think of is that the high latitudes where aurora occur are also latitudes where it doesn't get dark in the summer.