How Can I See the Northern Lights? We Asked a NASA Expert: Episode 54 – NASA

How can I see the northern lights?

To see the northern lights, you need to be in the right place at the right time.

Auroras are the result of charged particles and magnetism from the Sun called space weather dancing with the Earth’s magnetic field. And they happen far above the clouds. So you need clear skies, good space weather at your latitude and the higher, more polar you can be, the better. You need a lot of patience and some luck is always helpful.

A smartphone can also really help confirm whether you saw a little bit of kind of dim aurora, because cameras are more sensitive than our eyes.

The best months to see aurorae, statistically, are March and September. The best times to be looking are around midnight, but sometimes when the Sun is super active, it can happen any time from sunset to sunrise.

You can also increase your chances by learning more about space weather data and a great place to do that is at the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center.

You can also check out my project, Aurorasaurus.org, where we have free alerts that are based on your location and we offer information about how to interpret the data. And you can also report and tell us if you were able to see aurora or not and that helps others.

One last tip is finding a safe, dark sky viewing location with a great view of the northern horizon that’s near you.

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