How to See the Northern Lights

It’s a common bucket list item, but the Northern Lights are extremely elusive. Though there is auroral activity — the process of the solar winds interacting with the earth’s magnetic field — every single day somewhere on planet Earth, it’s pretty hard to see with your naked eyes, much less capture on a camera that doesn’t have long exposure capabilities.

In essence, much of this comes down to sheer luck — being in the right place at the right time. Still, there are several things you can do to increase your chances.

First, educate yourself about this phenomenon. It’s more likely to occur at high and low latitudes, especially within the Arctic and Antarctic circles. And you’ll need darkness, a cloud-free night, and, the farther you are from the poles, you’ll want a clear and unobstructed view of the northern horizon — looking toward the areas the Aurora are more likely to occur.

Another trick is to sign up for Aurora alerts in your area. You can sign on for this free service via NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center. There are also other regional, paid services that will give you text message and email alerts when there’s auroral activity in your area.