How to increase your chances of seeing the Northern Lights as the current solar cycle reaches its peak

If you’re a stargazer, brace yourself for an increase in aurora borealis activity amid the peak of the current solar cycle.

Over the next year or so, the likelihood of seeing the aurora borealis, also known as the aurora borealis, will increase as Earth remains at solar maximum in the current solar cycle, when more sunspots are expected with the intense magnetic activity, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

These sunspots have the ability to produce solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that manifest in a dazzling light show when they reach Earth.

What are the Northern Lights?

The northern lights, or aurora borealis, and their southern hemisphere counterpart, the aurora australis, or australis, are “the last step in the processes” from energy originating from the sun, Elizabeth Macdonald, physicist space from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. , he told ABC News.

Aurora borealis events occur when a “burst of solar material and strong magnetic fields” from the sun interact with atoms and molecules in Earth’s outer atmosphere, Shawn Dahl, coordinator of the Center for NOAA space weather forecast. This interaction causes atoms in Earth’s atmosphere to glow, creating a spectrum of color in the night sky.

“As part of this interaction, light is released, and that’s what we see as this brilliant beauty of the aurora,” said Dahl.

Every 11 years, the sun’s magnetic field reaches its solar maximum, which is when the number of solar flares is highest, according to NOAA. The current solar cycle is expected to peak between November 2024 and March 2026, NOAA says, during which aurora borealis activity will intensify.

The best places to see the Northern Lights in the US and around the world

In the continental United States, the best places to see the northern lights include the upper Midwest, such as Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and North Dakota, Dahl said.

“That’s where the area of ​​the country is most favorable to a more southerly progression of the aurora,” he said.

Travel company Expedia Group recommended April, October and November as the best times to see the Northern Lights in Michigan. In Minnesota, Voyageurs National Park along the Canadian border in fall or winter is the best time to chase auroras, according to Expedia.

Worldwide, Alaska, Canada, Finland and Norway get front-row seats to the northern lights, according to Expedia.

Sometimes the lights can extend further south than usual. The stronger the geomagnetic storm, the further south the northern lights can be seen, Macdonald said.

“They’re visible in more places than ever before,” Melanie Fish, a travel expert at Expedia Group, told ABC News.

However, the further south you go, the more red the lights appear instead of the usual green curtains, according to the National Park Service. This is because the curvature of the Earth causes the particles to interact higher in the atmosphere, where oxygen is less abundant, resulting in a redder hue.

The Great Wall of China has become one of the best places to see the Northern Lights, according to Expedia.

When is the best time to see the Northern Lights?

According to Dahl, ensuring a dark environment is the best way to see the aurora, experts say, with the best time to see the northern lights usually two hours before and after midnight.

In the winter months, that window can increase to four hours before and after midnight, as the sky darkens earlier, Dahl added.

Moving away from light pollution, and even the bright light of a full moon, will also improve the viewing experience, Dahl said.

Dahl also reminded stargazers to keep their eyes dark-adapted and avoid constant interactions with the bright screens of their cell phones.

Why is it difficult to predict the northern lights?

Space weather prediction is an extremely complex field, in part because the sun is about 93 million miles away, Macdonald said.

That enormous distance makes it difficult to predict the intensity of CMEs, Dahl said.

Scientists don’t know the composition of a CME, or the strength of its magnetic field, until it’s about a million miles from Earth, where a spacecraft stationed there can take measurements, Dahl said. At this point, the CME is practically on Earth’s doorstep.

“This gives us a couple of hours’ notice of the strength and amount of solar activity that will enter the Earth’s magnetic field region in space, and how well that will drive the aurora.” , Macdonald said.

Further complicating the ability to forecast the strength of a CME is the possibility that it could be affected by substorms on its long journey to Earth, Dahl said.

How to increase your chances of seeing the Northern Lights

Macdonald runs a citizen science platform called Aurorasaurus that allows people to sign up to receive alerts that an aurora may be visible in their area.

Users can also report to the website if they have seen an aurora, which helps the platform send alerts that the northern lights are being seen in real time, especially in places where they are not normally visible. The information also helps researchers build better forecasting models, MacDonald said.

“All this citizen science is really useful, especially during this solar maximum, which is the first time when people have all kinds of cell phones that can take pictures very easily,” Macdonald said.

Ultimately, Dahl urged people to practice patience when looking for the northern lights.

“It may not be fully developed yet or it may be weak, but then it may suddenly increase because a substorm started,” he said. “So be patient and make the most of it.”