The best time to see the northern lights
The best time to see the northern lights is between 10pm and 2am local time, in the weeks around the March and September equinoxes, when geomagnetic activity runs roughly twice the rate of the solstice months. You also need three things at once on the night: a Kp index high enough to reach your latitude, a clear sky, and a dark spot with an open view north.
Right nowKp 1.00as of 10:56 AM EDTSee every state
The best months, and the best hours
| Window | Best | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Time of night | 10pm to 2am local | Your location sits deepest under the auroral oval around magnetic midnight |
| Months | March, September, October | Geomagnetic activity peaks near the equinoxes, at roughly twice the solstice rate |
| Worst months | June and July | Short nights, and in the far north the sky never gets properly dark |
| Moon | The week around new moon | A full moon washes out anything faint |
| Solar cycle | Now, through the late 2020s | Solar Cycle 25 peaked in the mid 2020s, so activity stays elevated |
The equinox effect is real and worth planning around. When Earth's magnetic field is tilted so that it links most easily with the solar wind, storms are both more frequent and stronger, and that alignment happens near the March and September equinoxes. It is the single easiest thing to build a trip around.
Start with the number your state needs
Every location has a Kp threshold below which the aurora simply does not reach it. Northern Michigan needs about Kp 3. Boston and Seattle need about Kp 5. Denver and Columbus need about Kp 7. Check your own state's threshold and tonight's reading before you plan anything, because no amount of driving fixes a quiet magnetic field.
Get the timing right
- Aim for the hours around magnetic midnight, usually 10pm to 2am local time. This is when your location sits deepest under the auroral oval.
- Displays come in bursts called substorms. A quiet sky can erupt within minutes, so give it at least an hour before you give up.
- The equinox weeks in March and September produce the most geomagnetic activity, roughly twice the rate of the solstice months.
- Summer is a write off in the far north, where the sky never gets properly dark.
- Check the Moon. A full moon will drown out anything faint.
Pick the right spot
- Get away from town. Even a small city glow on the northern horizon competes with a faint aurora.
- Find an unobstructed view north. From the lower 48 the display usually sits low on the northern horizon rather than overhead.
- Water helps. A north facing lake shore gives you a clear sightline and a reflection.
- Give your eyes twenty minutes to adapt, and keep your phone screen dimmed and off your face. One glance at a bright screen undoes it.
Photographing it, including with a phone
A camera will show you colour your eyes cannot resolve, so it is worth taking a test shot even when the sky looks empty to you. If a greenish band appears in the frame, the display is real and may well strengthen.
| Setting | Start at | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Exposure | 3 to 5 seconds | Long enough to gather colour, short enough to keep structure |
| ISO | 1600 to 3200 | Raise it until the histogram lifts off the left edge |
| Aperture | As wide as the lens goes | f/2.8 or wider is ideal |
| Focus | Manual, on a bright star | Autofocus will hunt in the dark and fail |
| Support | Tripod, or the ground | Anything over a second needs the camera still |
On a modern phone, night mode will do most of this on its own if you prop it against something solid. Turn the flash off, and if the phone offers a manual or pro mode, a three second exposure will beat the automatic result nearly every time.
A realistic expectation
From the middle latitudes of the United States, most sightings are a pale arc low on the northern horizon rather than the overhead curtains in the photographs that go viral. Those images are usually taken from Alaska, Iceland or northern Scandinavia, often with a long exposure. Knowing that in advance makes a faint green glow over a lake feel like a success instead of a disappointment.