We can thank the sun for those dreamy purple pillars and neon swirls that erupt near the planet’s poles. Storms on the sun fling charged particles through the solar system. When these ions and electrons slam into Earth’s atmosphere, they’re drawn to the north and south magnetic poles. They react with atoms and molecules in our atmosphere and spark those colorful dancing lights travelers trot the globe to see.
The sun runs through roughly 11-year cycles of activity. During “solar minimum,” storms are milder; fewer particles reach Earth, which means less frequent, and quieter, displays. Solar maximum, on the other hand, sees the lights at their brightest and most vivid—and it’s coming sooner than initially predicted.
The decade’s peak of northern lights activity, originally estimated to strike around 2025, will likely hit between January and October 2024, says the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Scientists say this activity peak could bring the strongest northern lights displays in decades.
That means now is the time to plan that aurora-chasing trip; take my string of nearly a dozen sleep-deprived nights beneath Greenland’s tie-dye skies as proof. Here’s how and where to see the northern lights; whistle at your own risk.
How to plan a Northern Lights trip
Catching the northern lights requires a bit of know-how. Keep the following in mind as you plot your aurora chase:
- Season: To see the technicolor magic, you need dark skies—think: autumn through spring in far-north locales like Alaska or Norway. Summer’s around-the-clock midnight sun obscures the auroras in these regions. You also want a spot far from light pollution.
- Weather: Add buffer days in case bad weather hits; thick cloud cover can conceal the lights. That said, not all clouds hide them. A good rule of thumb? If you can see the stars, you could see auroras—but they need to be active.
- Aurora activity: Northern lights don’t dance around the clock; their appearance correlates with geomagnetic storms. You can estimate their potential visibility via the Kp index of geomagnetic activity, which runs from Kp 0 to Kp 9. In far-north spots like Iceland, even a Kp 1 can deliver awe-striking shows. The higher the metric, the more exceptional the show; strong storms also increase your chance for rare colors, like red auroras.
- Location: The lights travel in a donut shape, known as the auroral oval, above the geomagnetic poles. The ring regularly encompasses far-north locales like Lapland, Iceland, and Greenland. During more powerful geomagnetic storms, the oval swells, which makes the lights visible in lower latitudes like America’s Great Lakes region.
Where to Chase the Northern Lights
South Greenland
Greenland’s low population density (roughly 57,000 people) leaves a small human footprint. That means minimal light pollution and striking aurora displays, even in the capital city of Nuuk. South Greenland, in particular, is an ideal aurora-hunting getaway. It’s the island’s first spot to welcome nighttime darkness each fall—typically in late August—and it enjoys relatively mild weather compared to many Greenlandic regions.
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