How to see the northern lights: a woman watching the aurora borealis glow over Chisasibi, Quebec
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How to See the Northern Lights: Best Times, Places and Forecast Tips

ByMedia Pavilion

To see the northern lights, you need three things: geomagnetic activity strong enough to push the aurora to your latitude, a clear, dark sky away from city lights, and a view towards the northern horizon. The best time is usually between about 10pm and 2am local time, and the best months are from late August to April, with the weeks around the spring and autumn equinoxes often the most active. The Sun reached the peak of its 11-year cycle in 2024, and strong displays remain more likely than usual during the declining phase in 2026. This guide explains how the aurora works, how to read the forecasts and where and how to watch it in North America, Europe and beyond.

What Causes the Northern Lights?

The aurora borealis is caused by charged particles from the Sun colliding with gases in Earth’s upper atmosphere. The Sun constantly releases a stream of particles called the solar wind, and occasionally launches huge clouds of material known as coronal mass ejections. When these reach Earth, they disturb its magnetic field and funnel particles towards the polar regions. Oxygen high in the atmosphere glows green, which is the most common colour, while higher oxygen can produce red and nitrogen can give blue and purple edges.

The aurora normally forms a ring, called the auroral oval, around each magnetic pole. In the southern hemisphere, the same phenomenon is called the aurora australis.

Is 2026 Still a Good Time to See the Aurora?

Yes. In October 2024, NASA, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and an international panel announced that the Sun had reached the solar maximum period of its current 11-year cycle. Activity typically declines over several years afterwards, but some of the strongest geomagnetic storms in past cycles have happened during this declining phase. That means good aurora chances are expected to continue through 2026 and into the following years, though forecasters cannot predict individual storms months in advance.

How Do You Read an Aurora Forecast?

Two measures matter most:

  • The Kp index: a scale from 0 to 9 measuring global geomagnetic disturbance. Higher numbers push the aurora further from the poles. As a rough rule, the edge of the oval moves about two degrees of latitude towards the equator for each step up the scale.
  • NOAA’s G-scale: geomagnetic storms are rated from G1 (minor, Kp 5) to G5 (extreme, Kp 9). During a G4 (severe) storm, NOAA says the aurora can be seen at around 45 degrees geomagnetic latitude or lower.

Useful free tools include the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) aurora dashboard and its 30-minute OVATION forecast, the Space Weather Canada service from Natural Resources Canada, the UK’s Met Office space weather forecast and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s space weather service. Many aurora apps use the same data and can send alerts when activity rises.

Geomagnetic latitude is not the same as the latitude on a map. Because the magnetic pole sits over northern Canada, the aurora tends to reach further south in North America than in Europe at the same geographic latitude.

What Is the Best Time of Night and Year?

  • Time of night: the aurora can appear at any time when it is dark, but activity often peaks between around 10pm and 2am local time. Strong storms can bring displays soon after dusk.
  • Time of year: in the far north, the season runs from roughly late August to mid-April, because summer nights are too bright.
  • Equinoxes: Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology notes that geomagnetic disturbances are about twice as frequent around the March and September equinoxes as at the solstices, because of how Earth’s magnetic field lines up with the solar wind.
  • Moon phase: a new moon or crescent moon gives darker skies and makes faint aurora easier to see.

Where Are the Best Places to See the Northern Lights?

The most reliable viewing is under the auroral oval, roughly between 60 and 75 degrees north, where displays can occur on many clear nights:

  • Canada: Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories, Whitehorse in Yukon and Churchill in Manitoba are well known for frequent displays. Northern Quebec, where this article’s featured image was taken, also sees regular aurora.
  • United States: Fairbanks, Alaska, is one of the best-known spots in the world. During strong storms, the lights can also be seen across the northern states, from Washington to Minnesota, Michigan and Maine, and occasionally much further south.
  • Iceland: easy to reach, with good viewing outside Reykjavík.
  • Northern Norway, Sweden and Finland: Tromsø, Abisko and Finnish Lapland are popular bases.
  • Scotland: the far north and the islands, such as Shetland, Orkney and the Highlands, see the aurora several times a year.

In the southern hemisphere, Tasmania, the south of New Zealand’s South Island and Antarctica offer the best chances of the aurora australis.

How Do You Find a Good Viewing Spot?

  • Get away from light pollution. Even a 30–60 minute drive from a city can transform what you see.
  • Find a clear northern horizon, such as a lake, coastline or open field, if you are in the northern hemisphere.
  • Check the cloud forecast. Clear skies matter as much as the aurora forecast.
  • Let your eyes adjust. Allow 15–20 minutes in the dark and avoid looking at bright phone screens.
  • Be patient. Activity comes in waves, often with quiet spells in between.

Faint aurora can look greyish or pale green to the naked eye, while cameras often pick up stronger colour. That’s normal: our eyes are less sensitive to colour in the dark.

How Do You Photograph the Northern Lights?

  • Use a tripod, or prop your phone against something steady.
  • On a smartphone, use night mode, which takes a longer exposure automatically.
  • On a camera, start with a wide-angle lens at its widest aperture (such as f/2.8), ISO 1,600–3,200 and an exposure of 5–15 seconds. Use shorter exposures when the aurora is bright and moving fast.
  • Focus manually on a bright star or distant light.
  • Include a foreground, such as trees, a building or a person, to give a sense of scale.

How Should You Prepare for a Night of Aurora Watching?

Aurora watching in the far north often means standing outside in temperatures well below freezing. Dress in layers, with a warm hat, gloves, insulated boots and hand warmers. Bring a charged phone and spare batteries, which drain quickly in the cold. Tell someone where you are going, check road conditions, and never stop on the side of a busy road to watch. If you’re planning a trip, our guide to whether travel insurance is worth it explains what cover to consider, especially for remote winter destinations.

For more about the night sky, see our report on the discovery of comet C/2026 S1 by the Euclid telescope.

What Are the Key Takeaways?

  • The aurora is caused by solar particles striking Earth’s upper atmosphere, guided by its magnetic field.
  • The Sun passed solar maximum in 2024, and strong displays remain more likely than usual in 2026.
  • Check the Kp index, NOAA’s G-scale and cloud forecasts; each Kp step moves the aurora about two degrees of latitude.
  • The best viewing is often between 10pm and 2am, from late August to April, and around the equinoxes.
  • Get away from city lights, face a clear northern horizon and give your eyes time to adjust.

Featured image: A woman watches the aurora borealis glowing over Chisasibi, Quebec, Canada (21), by Carl Young / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped, colour-graded and combined with MediaPavilion branding.

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