Aurora Borealis 2026: When, Where, and How to See the Northern Lights
If Aurora Borealis sightings are on your bucket list, you're in luck. Everyone has a chance to see them, you just have to know when and where to look.
Quick Reference
- Best months: December through April. Long nights, dark skies, and active solar weather.
- Best hours: 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. local time.
- Most reliable locations: Fairbanks AK, Yellowknife NT, Churchill MB, Tromso Norway, Reykjavik Iceland.
- Why 2026 matters: the sun is still at the peak of Solar Cycle 25 (the current solar maximum), which extends aurora visibility much farther south than in quieter years.
- Furthest-south sighting on record: the Florida Keys, the Yucatán, and Puerto Rico during the May 10-11, 2024 G5 storm.
The Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) is the most spectacular sky event most readers will ever see in person. Bands and curtains of green, pink, red, blue, and violet light shift across the sky for minutes or hours, lit from inside by a stream of subatomic particles arriving from the sun. The Farmers’ Almanac long-range forecast covers the night skies along with the weather, season by season. With the sun in solar maximum through 2026, this is one of the best multi-year stretches in two decades to see the lights, and the geographic window for viewing is unusually large. Here is what causes the aurora, when to look, where to go, and how to photograph what you see.
What Causes the Aurora Borealis
The aurora is created when the sun’s solar wind, a continuous stream of high-energy charged particles, reaches Earth and gets channelled toward the magnetic poles by the planet’s magnetic field. The particles collide with thinly distributed gases in the upper atmosphere, between 60 and 600 miles above the surface, and the collisions transfer energy that knocks electrons in the gas atoms into excited states. As the electrons fall back to their normal positions they release that energy as visible light. The result is the glowing curtain we see at ground level.
The colors come from the type of gas struck by the solar particles. Oxygen produces green and yellow at lower altitudes (around 60 to 150 miles), and a deep red at higher altitudes (around 200 to 300 miles). Nitrogen produces blue, violet, and pink, mostly at lower altitudes. The shifting glow looks similar to a neon sign because the underlying physics is similar: a rarefied gas excited by an electrical or particle current produces a color characteristic of that gas.
The particles take 20 to 40 hours to travel from a sun-side eruption to Earth. Modern space-weather forecasters at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center can usually flag a major aurora event a day or two in advance.
When to Look in 2026
Solar activity follows an 11-year cycle. The current cycle (Solar Cycle 25) reached its peak through 2024 and 2025 and is still high in 2026. Solar maximum produces more frequent and more powerful coronal mass ejections, which means more frequent aurorae and more aurorae visible at lower latitudes than during quieter years. The next several years are the best window for viewing until the early 2030s.
Within a given year, the best months for aurora viewing are December through April, the same dark-sky window that produces the country’s most-remembered winter storms. The combination of long nights, generally clear cold air, and active winter solar patterns makes this the prime stretch. Within a given night, 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. local time is the most reliable window. Aurorae do happen outside this window, but the magnetic-pole geometry favours these hours.
The equinox months (March and September) are also worth flagging. Solar activity tends to interact more strongly with Earth’s magnetic field around the equinoxes because of the geometric alignment, which produces a small but real seasonal bump in aurora visibility.
Where the Lights Appear
In the Northern Hemisphere, the aurora’s most active zone (the auroral oval) sits around the north magnetic pole at about 74 degrees north latitude. The closer you are to the auroral oval, the more often you see the lights and the brighter they appear.
| Location | Latitude | Aurora-visible nights per year |
|---|---|---|
| Churchill, Manitoba | 59 N | ~300, almost every clear night |
| Fairbanks, Alaska | 65 N | ~250 |
| Yellowknife, NWT | 62 N | ~240 |
| Tromso, Norway | 69 N | ~220 |
| Reykjavik, Iceland | 64 N | ~150 |
| Anchorage, Alaska | 61 N | ~100 |
| US/Canada border | ~49 N | ~25 |
| Washington DC | 38 N | ~1, only during major storms |
| Mexico/Florida border | ~25 N | once every 10 to 20 years |
The aurora can stretch much farther south than usual when the sun produces a major event. On April 12, 1981, a powerful solar flare pushed visible aurorae as far south as the Mexican border and Florida. The May 10-11, 2024 G5 storm, the strongest geomagnetic storm since 2003 (see our broader weather that changed history piece for more milestone events), produced visible aurora across the entire continental United States, the Yucatán Peninsula, the Bahamas, and Puerto Rico. Spain, Portugal, North Africa, and central China also saw the lights for the first time in living memory. Tens of millions of people photographed the aurora that weekend who had never seen one before.
How to Use the NOAA Kp / G Scale
NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center publishes daily aurora forecasts using two related scales: the Kp index (0 to 9, measuring geomagnetic activity) and the G scale (G1 to G5, measuring storm intensity). The higher the number, the farther south the aurora can be seen.
- Kp 1-2 (G0): aurora visible only in the highest northern locations (Alaska, northern Canada, northern Scandinavia).
- Kp 3-4: aurora visible across the northern tier of US states (North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Maine).
- Kp 5 (G1): aurora visible as far south as Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska.
- Kp 6 (G2): as far south as Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, northern California.
- Kp 7 (G3): as far south as North Carolina, Tennessee, Kansas, Colorado.
- Kp 8 (G4): as far south as Georgia, Texas, Arizona.
- Kp 9 (G5): as far south as Florida, southern California, Mexico. Roughly once a decade.
Sign up for a free aurora-alert text or app: SpaceWeatherLive, Aurora Forecast (University of Alaska Fairbanks), or AuroraWatch UK all push notifications when Kp climbs into range for your latitude.
An Unexpected Solar Flare
Solar activity is not entirely predictable. Major flares can erupt during the supposedly quiet phases of the cycle. In early August 1972, when overall solar activity was near its minimum for the cycle, the sun produced the largest solar flare in nearly 12 years. The resulting aurora display lit up the sky for three nights across most of the Northern Hemisphere. Robert Decker, then chief of the Space Environmental Services Center, called it “sort of like getting snow in Atlanta during July.” The takeaway: even outside solar maximum, sign up for the alerts. The lights can show up unannounced.
Where the Name Comes From
“Aurora borealis” is Latin and Greek combined: Aurora is the Roman goddess of the dawn, and Boreas is the Greek name for the north wind. Galileo coined the combined term in 1619. The Southern Hemisphere equivalent, the Aurora Australis, takes its name from Auster, the Roman name for the south wind. Both auroras happen at the same time and produce mirror-image displays around their respective magnetic poles.
Folklore From the Aurora Zone
Cultures that live under the auroral oval have generated centuries of folklore around the lights. The Inuit told children not to whistle when the aurora was overhead, lest the lights swoop down and carry them up to the sky. Norse sagas linked the aurora to the Bifrost, the bridge between Asgard and the realm of mortals. Sami tradition treated the lights with reverence and silence, on the principle that loud noise could provoke them. From poet Kate Tuthill’s Labrador in Winter:
The Inuits say don’t whistle,
when the northern lights are high,
lest they swoop to earth and carry you up
to the luminescent sky.
How to Photograph the Northern Lights
The aurora is brighter to a camera than to the eye, especially with modern smartphone night-mode settings. A few practical steps:
- Use a tripod or stable surface. Long exposures need the camera to hold still. A car hood, a fence post, even a stack of books will do.
- For a phone: open the camera, turn on night mode, increase the exposure to the longest setting your phone offers (usually 10 to 30 seconds), and tap to focus on a star or distant landmark.
- For a DSLR or mirrorless: manual mode, ISO 800 to 3200, f/2.8 or wider aperture, 5 to 15 second exposure. Adjust based on the brightness of the display.
- Foreground. Include a tree, a cabin, a mountain ridge, or a frozen lake. The image without a foreground is just sky.
- Get away from light pollution. Even a half-mile from a streetlight makes a measurable difference.
Plan a Trip Around the Lights
If your home latitude rarely sees the aurora, the best move is to travel to a high-latitude location during a winter month. The most consistent destinations are:
- Fairbanks, Alaska (US): clearest skies of any high-latitude US city, daily flights, well-developed aurora-tour industry.
- Yellowknife, Northwest Territories (Canada): cold and dark, with statistically the highest probability of clear-sky aurora in North America.
- Churchill, Manitoba (Canada): the polar bear town doubles as a top aurora destination most nights of the year.
- Tromso, Norway: the most accessible European base, with multiple direct flights from major European hubs.
- Reykjavik, Iceland: easy from the East Coast US, with the bonus of geothermal pools and volcanic landscapes for the rest of the trip.
- Abisko, Sweden: the “blue hole” microclimate produces clearer skies than the surrounding region, which boosts aurora-viewing odds.
For all of these, plan three to four nights. A single night gives you maybe a 50 percent chance of seeing the lights. Three nights pushes the odds well above 80 percent.
Watch the sky. Sign up for the alerts. The next storm could be tonight.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the best time of year to see the Aurora Borealis?
December through April. Long nights, dark skies, and active winter solar patterns make this the prime stretch. The best hours of the night are 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. local time.
How far south can the Aurora Borealis be seen?
In ordinary conditions, no farther than the northern tier of US states. During major geomagnetic storms, the aurora can reach much farther south. The May 10-11, 2024 G5 storm produced visible aurora across the entire continental US, including Florida, Texas, and southern California, plus the Yucatán and Puerto Rico.
What causes the colors of the Northern Lights?
The colors come from the gas being struck by solar particles in the upper atmosphere. Oxygen produces green and yellow at lower altitudes, deep red at higher altitudes. Nitrogen produces blue, violet, and pink. The exact color depends on which gas, at what altitude, and how the energized atoms release their light.
What is the Kp index?
A scale from 0 to 9 measuring geomagnetic activity. The higher the number, the more intense the storm and the farther south the aurora is visible. Kp 5 is the threshold for a G1 minor storm; Kp 9 is a G5 extreme storm. NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center publishes daily Kp forecasts.
Where does the name Aurora Borealis come from?
Galileo coined the term in 1619 by combining Aurora, the Roman goddess of dawn, and Boreas, the Greek name for the north wind. The Southern Hemisphere equivalent is the Aurora Australis, named for Auster, the Roman south wind.
Will I see the Aurora in 2026?
If you live above 49 degrees north latitude (US/Canada border or higher), the odds are good. If you live below that, you can still see the aurora during major storms, but you need to monitor space-weather forecasts and be ready to head out on short notice. The next several years are the best chance to see it before the sun’s activity declines toward solar minimum in the early 2030s.
Can I photograph the Aurora with a phone?
Yes. Modern smartphones (iPhone 12 and newer, Pixel 6 and newer, recent Samsung Galaxy models) handle low-light night photography well enough to capture the aurora clearly. Use night mode, set the exposure to 10 to 30 seconds, hold the phone steady on a stable surface, and tap to focus on a star or distant landmark.
Joe Rao
Joe Rao is an esteemed astronomer who writes for Space.com, Sky & Telescope, and Natural History Magazine. Mr. Rao is a regular contributor to the Farmers' Almanacand serves as an associate lecturer for the Hayden Planetarium in New York City.
- Joe Rao
- Joe Rao
- Joe Rao
- Joe Rao
From Lolo, MT like 4 weeks ago.
i was sitting on my ac unit having a smoke, when i looked up and saw a red curtain of lights, it only lasted a few seconds but it was crazy,oh and by the way i live in wilmington n.c.