Where is the best place to see the Northern Lights? US times and locations to observe the aurora borealis
Catching a glimpse of the Northern Lights can be a memorizing sight, but you need a bit of luck and to be in the right place. Here’s your best chance.
Generally, for those that want to seek out the Northern Lights, they need to go to higher latitudes. But the forces that create them mean that they aren’t spread out evenly. Nor are conditions always ideal where they could potentially appear within the Aurora Oval.
There was great hope that back-to-back geomagnetic storms would create the opportunity for those living as far south as Nebraska, Ohio and Maryland to catch a glimpse of the celestial light show on Wednesday and Thursday this week. However, the forecast has been revised and only those living in an arc going from the northeastern most part of Washington State close to the border with Canada to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan dipping down to the Twin Cities in the middle might have a chance.
Where is the best place to see the Northern Lights? US times and locations to observe the aurora borealis
According to the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, Geophysical Institute website, the aurora conditions are forecasted to be fairly mild with an estimated planetray K index of Kp 2-3 through Wednesday into Thursday. The Space Weather Prediction Center Aurora Dashboard is predicting a quiet aurora spread extensively over Alaska and Canada.
People in the northeastern most corner of Washington State, the uppermost part of the panhandle of Idaho, northern portions of Montana, most of North Dakota, the northern half of Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan may be able to see the Northern Lights on the horizon.
Some in Montana, North Dakota and Minnesota may even get to see them overhead on Wednesday. The visibility line retreats on Thursday so that only the northern most tip of Minnesota falls within it. But residents in most of Alaska that are not in the Aleutian Peninsula or in the eternal light of the Midnight Sun could have a view of the dancing lights once the darkness of night sets in.
What causes the Aurora Borealis?
The Northern Lights are produced when highly charged particles from the Sun get funneled by the Earth’s magnetic field and they fall into the atmosphere at high speed. Then those particles interact with the upper atmosphere, at altitudes of 60 to more than 250 miles up, and the resulting ionization of the atmosphere creates the colorful dance of light across the sky. They can glow in a variety of colors, including vivid greens and purples.
The Northern Lights are most commonly seen in the polar regions with the best viewing anywhere with a magnetic latitude above 55º and low light pollution. You can find your magnetic latitude either at NOAA or World Data Center for Geomagnetism.
However with strong solar flares the lights can be seen at lower latitudes than normal. For a reference Minneapolis is at 55º magnetic latitude and about 300 miles from the Canadian border but Seattle less than half the distance is at less than 53º.
How can I see them?
The Northern Lights can occur anytime of the year but the darker it is the better. The best time to view the Aurora Borealis is during the equinoxes in March and September. They don’t usually exhibit for long coming and going a few minutes at a time. A good display may last for no longer than 15-30 minutes at a time, although if you’re really lucky, it could extend to a couple of hours or longer.
To see them the sky needs to be dark and clear of any clouds. They may appear like illuminated rain on the horizon depending on your latitude but the further north, or south depending on the hemisphere, you go the better chance they will fill the sky. National Geographic gives 7 of the best locations to view them.
How can I know when the Northern Light will appear?
There is no 100% guarantee of spotting the Northern Lights just hope that you are in the right place at the right time. There are forecasts available with the Kp Index is generally considered the most accurate. The forecast corresponds to the planetary magnetic index on a scale of one to nine, with one being very low activity and nine very high. The Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska has an excellent website, which allows you to view predicted activity in all auroral regions. You can also sign up for Northern Lights forecast email alerts that tell you when activity rises above four to five on the Kp scale.