How to View the Northern Lights — Maybe Right in Your Backyard
The magical light show is particularly active now during the peak of an 11-year sun cycle
Over the past year, I've crisscrossed my home state of Connecticut on more than a few nights searching for the aurora borealis, which has been showing up farther south in the United States than is typical. Colloquially known as the northern lights, I find the night-time light show magical and other-worldly.
My neighbors had been texting me pictures of their views of purple, pink and blue skies they got by simply stepping into their backyards, making me green with envy. I've seen the lights in Alaska and Iceland, but I never expected to see them right outside my own front door. Finally, in October just after sunset, I hit pay dirt thanks to texts from two friends urging me to "Go outside — NOW!"
The aurora borealis is produced by energy blasts from the sun that hit the Earth's magnetic field, says Shawn Dahl, service coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado. NOAA is responsible for tracking solar activity, which not only produces the beautiful lights we love to see, but also can disrupt the power grid, satellites and aviation. For this reason, "behind the scenes, NOAA is notifying the critical infrastructure technologies and upper levels of government of solar storms that might be dangerous," he says.
The lights are typically most visible during winter months, between the hours of 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time. They can last anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour or two. But then again, they can appear just after dark and linger just a few minutes, as they did in Connecticut in October when I was lucky enough to catch them.
The lights are particularly active now because we are near what is known as the solar maximum, an 11-year cycle when the sun is most active.
The lights are particularly active now because we are near what is known as the solar maximum, an 11-year cycle when the sun is most active, explains Liz MacDonald, founder of the website Aurorasaurus and a heliophysicist with NASA. During the solar max, the sun produces explosive geomagnetic storms, which lead to dramatic and more frequent auroras.
Normally, the lights are seen mostly in the northern U.S. states like the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin and also particularly in Alaska, Canada, Norway, Finland and Sweden. But bouts of intense solar activity have led to two periods over the past year — in May and in October — when the northern lights have been visible as far south as Kansas and Texas. This activity is expected to continue throughout 2025 and maybe into 2026 as the solar max recedes.
Viewing Tips
As I and other "aurora chasers" have discovered, the lights can be elusive, even on nights when they are forecast to be visible in your area. If you're keen to view them, here are some tips on how:
Check the NOAA website. This page features aurora forecasts for both the northern and southern hemispheres. (Yes, you can also see aurora australis, or the southern lights, in Antarctica and Southern Australia during their winter, Dahl says.) The forecasts offer a 30- to 90-minute prediction for both location and intensity of auroras. The forecasts are rated from geomagnetic (G) factors G1 to G4. At G1, the first level on the scale, the lights are typically visible in far northern New England and the Dakotas. At G3, you might see them farther south, and at G4, you most likely will.
If it's cloudy, it's unlikely you'll be able to view the lights. Likewise, if the moon is high in the sky, it might be difficult to see them.
Visit Aurorasaurus and Facebook for reports of local sightings. Both of these sites can provide local information from regular people like yourself about where auroras are being sighted. Aurorasaurus, a crowd-sourced website that provides data for space scientists, also has lots of educational information about auroras and even allows you to sign up for an email alert when auroras might be visible in your location. This can be important for timing, since it's difficult to predict exactly when the lights will show on a given night. Your community Facebook pages, as well as aurora chaser and photography Facebook groups, are also good sources for alerts.
Make sure skies are clear and the moon is low in the southern sky. If it's cloudy, it's unlikely you'll be able to view the lights. Likewise, if the moon is high in the sky, it might be difficult to see them, Dahl says.
Go to a dark area with little light pollution. On nights when auroras are predicted in your area, you might want to drive to a dark field somewhere that faces north, northeast or northwest. The lights might also appear overhead, Dahl says. Either way, be patient and persistent. And be aware that it can take up to 30 minutes for your eyes to fully adjust to the dark and see a faint aurora.
Cellphone cameras have advanced so much that the lights are more visible through the camera lens than by the naked eye.
Be safe. Others may be chasing the lights too and may not see your car parked in the dark, so be sure you're in a safe spot.
View the lights through a smartphone. Cellphone cameras have advanced so much that the lights are more visible through the camera lens than by the naked eye. "Take a slow-exposure photo," advises Don Hampton, research associate professor at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Geophysical Institute. "If it's deep green or red, you're seeing an aurora."
Let others know if you see an aurora. "You can report whether you see aurora or not to Aurorasaurus," says MacDonald, which will help other aurora chasers be successful. Also post your photos immediately on Facebook, Instagram or other social media sites or via text to tip off your neighbors.
