NORTHERN LIGHTS MAP HOW TO

Other parts of the country, including Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri have also reported seeing the aurora.Īccording to the Library of Congress, northern lights originate on the surface of the sun through an ejection of a cloud of gas. People in rural communities have been reporting the lights on Twitter, including people as far west as Holmen, near La Crosse. The faint aurora is typically only visible from a dark place, making it tougher to see in metropolitan areas, but the National Weather Service office in Sullivan said in a tweet that meteorologists observed the colorful lights outside the office. Locations up to 1.000 kilometers (600 miles) north or south of the auroral oval might still see aurora near their horizon during optimal viewing conditions. Skywatchers across Ontario were treated to a vivid display of the Northern Lights overnight Thursday. The map shows the intensity and the location of the auroral oval for the time given in the right-hand corner of the map. But a number of people took to social media Thursday night to say they were seeing the colorful lights. Northern Lights just appeared over Ontario and the photos are absolutely breathtaking. People are often told the northern lights might be visible in Wisconsin, but it rarely seems to happen. In contrast to the northern lights, the aurora australis are usually most prominent from March to September.An astronomical phenomenon known as the northern lights was visible Thursday in the night sky in parts of Wisconsin, including near the Milwaukee area. The “ Dunedin Aurora Nowcast” site-run out of the University of Otago in partnership with the museum-helps track the auroras for when they are visible in the region. Ian Griffin, an astronomer who is the director of the Otago Museum in Dunedin, one of the southernmost cities in New Zealand, has long been tracking the lights. With less landmass in the south, the southern lights are perhaps less talked about as they mostly occur over water, but they can be seen over parts of New Zealand, and Australia and Tasmania.ĭr. The aurora australis-or southern lights-are the same phenomenon on the other side of the Earth. While travel to and from Australia and New Zealand is not yet an option for most potential visitors, residents there can plan to catch sight of a different aurora.

NORTHERN LIGHTS MAP HOW TO

The aurora australis or southern lights are mostly seen across Australia and New Zealand © Arrested Light Photography / Alamy Stock Photo How to see the southern lights However, these auroras are sudden and short-lived. In the solar maximum, the sun is more “active”, leading to northern lights that are caused by solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Luckily, there is a benefit of being closer to the solar minimum-it means that the lights can actually be more predictable. Read more: Catch the northern lights from your ice hotel: Norway's Far North is the ideal winter playground Can I still see the northern lights during the solar minimum? We’re currently closer to the minimum and will ramp up to the next expected maximum in July 2025. The solar minimum occurred in December 2019, which kicked off the start of a new solar cycle, known to experts at NOAA and NASA as Solar Cycle 25. This creates a lot of northern lights activity, followed by a couple of years of transition, then three to four years of solar minimum.

While they are famously a night-time phenomenon, the northern lights are actually influenced by the activity of the sun.Īccording to Rodney, the sun goes through a roughly 11-year cycle, which includes three to four years of solar maximum. Is 2022 a good year to see the northern lights? The best time to see the lights differs slightly by country, but, in general, the peak season is between November and March.

But overall, Rodney has some pretty simple advice for aurora hunters: “be patient and go north”.Ĭlear skies are a must for viewing the lights and, of course, staying in a destination for as long as possible will help increase your chances of spying them. The NOAA website has additional tips on where to view the aurora with links to maps that show where the light show can be seen. According to him, spots like Fairbanks in Alaska, Whitehorse, Yellowknife and Churchill in Canada, and Iceland and northern Norway are all safe bets. Rodney Viereck works at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – a US government body that specializes in monitoring weather and atmospheric conditions. Once you’ve decided you’re ready to tick seeing the northern lights off your bucket list, the next decision is where to go. The aurora borealis streak across the sky above the Lofoten Islands in Norway © Nutexzles / Getty Images Where is the best place to see the northern lights?

Northern lights map