How often can I see aurora?

There is always some aurora at some place on earth. When the solar wind is calm, the aurora might only be occurring at very high latitudes and might be faint, but there is still aurora. In order for us to see the aurora, however, the sky must be dark and clear. Sunlight and clouds are the biggest obstacles to auroral observations.

Where is the best place to see aurora?

The best places to view aurora are high northern latitudes during the winter in Alaska, Canada, and Scandinavia. Furthermore, there is quite strong (but poorly understood) tendency for auroral activity to be stronger at equinox than it is at solstice. This so-called “Russell-McPherron effect” means that the statistical likelihood of seeing aurora over interior Alaska is roughly twice as high at equinox as it is at solstice. Combined with a slight preference for better weather in spring than in fall, this means that late February to early April are usually considered the best aurora viewing months in Alaska. To see aurora you need clear and dark sky. During very large auroral events, the aurora may be seen throughout the U.S. and Europe, but these events are rare. During an extreme event in 1958, the aurora was visible from Mexico City. During average activity levels, auroral displays will be overhead at high northern or southern latitudes. Places like Fairbanks, Alaska; Dawson City, Yukon; Yellowknife, NWT; Gillam, Manitoba; the southern tip of Greenland; Reykjavik, Iceland; Tromsø, Norway; and the northern coast of Siberia all offer a good chance to view the aurora overhead. In North Dakota, Michigan, Quebec, and central Scandinavia, you might be able to see aurora on the northern horizon when activity picks up a little. In the southern hemisphere the aurora has to be fairly active before it can be seen from places other than Antarctica. Hobart, Tasmania, and the southern tip of New Zealand have about the same chance of seeing aurora as Vancouver, BC, South Dakota, Michigan, Scotland, or St. Petersburg, Russia. Fairly strong auroral activity is required for aurora viewing in those locations.

What is the best time of day to see aurora?

The best time to watch for aurora is the three or four hours around midnight, but aurora occurs throughout the night. Active auroral displays tend to be more diffuse and fragmented later in the night, which means that 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. is typically the time period with the highest probability of seeing spectacular auroral displays over interior Alaska in winter. Since clear sky and darkness are both essential to see aurora, the best time is dictated by the weather and by the sunrise and sunset times. The moon is also very bright and can make it more difficult to view the aurora, so lunar cycles should be taken into account.

What period of night does the date on the Aurora forecast refer to?

The Aurora forecast is in Universal Time (UTC), which is eight hours ahead of Alaska time. This means midnight universal time is 4 p.m. Alaska time. If you want to know Alaska’s night forecast from midnight to sunrise, when the aurora is often more active, you should look at the next day’s forecast. For example, if you want to know the forecast for auroral activity in Alaska for the night of March 1 and early morning of March 2, look at the forecast for March 2, UTC.

What is the best time of year to see aurora?

Clear skies are a requirement, so you should try to choose a location and a season that is blessed with the clearest skies. The continental locations in Russia, Alaska and western Canada under the auroral zone statistically have the clearest skies. Note that during the spring, the skies of Iceland and Scandinavia are usually clear. So the dark of the moon in March is the best time of year to travel to the auroral zone since the yearly cycle of auroral activity also peaks around the equinox. Sunlight prevents viewing the aurora during the summer at high latitudes. The skies at night are simply too bright as the sun climbs in the sky until the June 21 solstice and then descends. Here in Fairbanks, at about latitude 64.8, our aurora viewing “season” is August 21 to April 21. The odds are in your favor between those dates: if the weather is clear and you stay for at least three nights, it’s highly likely (though never certain!) that you will see the aurora. From April 22 to August 20 although the sun does set the sky never gets dark enough in Fairbanks to see the aurora even if it was a spectacular display.

Why are some years better than others to view the aurora?

The number of sunspots on the Sun's surface changes on a fairly regular cycle, which scientists refer to as the sun's 11-year cycle variation. Sunspot activity, and hence auroral activity, tends to peak every 11 years. This peak is called the solar maximum. The last solar maximum was in 2014; the next is expected around 2025. The chances of seeing the aurora at lower latitudes increase when the sunspot cycle is at a maximum, but chances at higher latitudes are not as dependent on the solar maximum because the auroral oval is normally present.

Where should I view the aurora when I'm in Fairbanks, Alaska?