Topline
An uptick in activity on the sun’s surface this year produced the strongest displays of aurora borealis in the last 500 years, according to NASA, but not to worry if you missed the chance to see the Northern Lights this year—forecasters believe that peak will persist through 2025 and into early 2026.
Activity on the sun’s surface only recently hit its peak, which NASA expects to persist through ... [+]
Key Facts
NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced in October that the sun’s 11-year cycle had reached a “solar maximum,” increasing the rate of space weather events like electromagnetic radiation, or solar flares, and bubbles of plasma that burst along with those flares, or coronal mass ejections.
Solar activity has exceeded expectations during this peak, according to NASA, which expects the “solar maximum” to continue into 2026 before decreasing through 2030.
In May, NASA said it tracked the strongest geomagnetic storm to reach Earth in two decades—caused by multiple solar flares and at least seven coronal mass ejections—resulting in possibly the strongest northern lights displays “in the past 500 years.”
Solar activity picked up in the following months before the peak, according to NASA, with the most powerful flare of the solar cycle occurring on Oct. 3, an event that forecasters warned would significantly impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.
A “severe” geomagnetic storm was forecast on Oct. 11, when aurora borealis displays became visible as far south as northern Florida.
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Where Will The Northern Lights Be Visible In 2025?
Northern lights displays are most visible in Alaska and northern Canada for most of the year, though the severity of solar events frequently pulls the phenomenon below the Canadian border. A “quiet” display—occurring about two times each week during the “solar maximum”—is more visible in northern U.S. states like Washington, Idaho, North Dakota and Minnesota, with a lower likelihood in parts of South Dakota, Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, according to NOAA. More states have an opportunity to view during “moderate” auroras, with a view line—marking a minimal chance to see the phenomenon—arching through areas in Wyoming, northern New York and Maine. An “active” aurora, the result of a “strong” geomagnetic storm, pushes the northern lights to Oregon, Nebraska, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont and Illinois. Should auroral activity become “very active” similar to northern lights displays in May and October, several more states could have a chance to see the phenomenon, though it depends on the severity of the geomagnetic storm.
Where Were The Northern Lights Most Visible In 2024?
The northern lights frequently appear in the night sky above Alaska regardless of solar activity, according to NOAA’s analysis. During weaker solar events, North Dakota is more likely to experience the phenomenon than any other state, while states like Washington and Minnesota and parts of northern Idaho by the Canadian border have opportunities multiple times a month. Brand USA, an organization tasked by U.S. officials with promoting tourism, recommends traveling to Idaho, Alaska, Maine, Minnesota and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula as the best locations to see auroral activity. In October and May, the northern lights were pulled even further south, with the spectacle viewed in northern Florida, California, Texas and Kansas. During these two events, auroral activity was captured over the New York City skyline and across most of the northern U.S., including in some areas where the northern lights aren’t normally seen, like Detroit.
What’s The Best Way To See The Northern Lights?
Auroral activity is best seen between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time while at a high vantage point away from light pollution, according to NOAA. The displays can be seen from as much as 620 miles away if conditions are optimal.
What’s The Best Way To Photograph The Northern Lights?
Smartphone cameras are more sensitive to the colors of the aurora and can capture the northern lights if night mode is enabled, even if the event isn’t visible to the naked eye, according to NASA. If using a regular camera, National Geographic recommends using a wide-angle lens, high ISO value and focus set to the farthest possible setting.
What To Watch For
NASA and other aeronautics agencies have signaled an increase in missions over the next few years to better understand space weather and its effects. NASA’s Parker Solar Probe mission will make its closest-ever approach to the sun this month and plans to make three other approaches to understand space weather “right at the source.” The European Space Agency launched its Proba-3 mission on Dec. 5 to create the first artificial solar eclipses. The mission consists of two satellites that will travel in an elliptical orbit above Earth for the next two years, allowing scientists to study aspects of the sun’s surface, including why the outer atmosphere is hotter than the sun itself, coronal mass ejections and how solar winds accelerate. The first images from this mission are expected to be released by the ESA in March.
Key Background
Aurora borealis, a display of swirling, colorful lights in the night sky, are the result of activity on the sun’s surface. Electrons from solar flares and coronal mass ejections interact with the oxygen and nitrogen in Earth’s atmosphere, causing atoms and molecules of these gases to become “excited” before releasing small bursts of energy in the form of light, according to NASA. Activity on the sun’s surface is measured over 11 years and gradually increases and decreases during this period, achieving a “solar maximum” and a “solar minimum.” NASA said it intends to better understand the effects of events like solar flares and coronal mass ejections, including measuring how Earth’s atmosphere responds to energy influxes that occur during more severe events. A better understanding of space weather will be “valuable” to send astronauts to the moon and Mars, NASA said.
