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Aurora Borealis Spectacles Reach a 500-Year High in 2024: Locations to Witness the Northern Lights in 2025
An increase in solar activity this year has led to some of the strongest displays of aurora borealis in the last half a millennium, as per NASA's assertions. There's no need to feel disheartened if you missed out on witnessing the Northern Lights this year, as experts predict that the peak will extend through 2025 and stretch into early 2026.
Crucial Information
In October, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that the sun's 11-year cycle had reached its zenith, boosting the frequency of space weather incidents such as electromagnetic radiation or solar flares, as well as plasma bubbles that burst together with the flares or coronal mass ejections.
According to NASA, the solar maximum is anticipated to persist until 2026, gradually decreasing by 2030. The space agency also stated that in May, it detected the strongest geomagnetic storm to hit Earth in two decades, caused by multiple solar flares and at least seven coronal mass ejections. This storm might have resulted in the strongest Northern Lights displays in the previous 500 years.
As the solar peak approached, the intensity of solar activity picked up, according to NASA. The most powerful flare of the solar cycle took place on Oct. 3, an event that forecasters warned could significantly disrupt radio communications, electrical power grids, navigation signals, and potentially pose threats to spacecraft and astronauts. A "severe" geomagnetic storm was forecast for Oct. 11, when aurora borealis displays became visible as far south as northern Florida.
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Where Can One Expect to Spot the Northern Lights in 2025?
While Northern Lights displays are most visible in Alaska and northern Canada for most of the year, solar events often pull the phenomenon below the Canadian border. A mild display, occurring about twice a week during the "solar maximum", is more visible in northern USA states such as Washington, Idaho, North Dakota, and Minnesota. However, there's a lower probability in parts of South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Upper Michigan. Several more states have opportunities to view during "moderate" auroras, with a view line, indicating a minimal chance of seeing the phenomenon, stretching 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 displays in May and October, even more states could have the opportunity to witness the phenomenon, depending 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 data. During weaker solar events, North Dakota has a higher likelihood of witnessing the phenomenon than any other state, while states like Washington and Minnesota, along with parts of northern Idaho close to the Canadian border, have multiple opportunities each month. Brand USA, an organization entrusted to promote tourism by US authorities, recommends traveling to Idaho, Alaska, Maine, Minnesota's Upper Peninsula, and Michigan's Upper Peninsula as the top locations to witness auroral activity. During October and May, the Northern Lights were drawn even further south, with the spectacle being viewed in northern Florida, California, Texas, and Kansas. During these events, auroral activity was captured not just over the New York City skyline but also across most of the northern USA, even in areas where the Northern Lights aren't typically visible, such as Detroit.
How Best to View the Northern Lights?
Auroral activity is best viewed between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time, from a high vantage point away from light pollution, according to NOAA. The displays can be seen up to 620 miles away under optimal conditions.
How to Capture the Northern Lights on Camera?
Smartphone cameras have greater sensitivity 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. For regular cameras, National Geographic suggests using a wide-angle lens, a high ISO value, and a focus set to the farthest possible setting.
Things to Keep an Eye on
NASA and other aeronautics agencies have indicated an increase in missions over the next few years focusing on understanding space weather and its effects. NASA's Parker Solar Probe mission will make its closest-ever approach to the sun this month and will make three further approaches to study space weather "right at the source." The European Space Agency launched its Proba-3 mission on Dec. 5 to create artificial solar eclipses. The mission comprises two satellites that will travel in an elliptical orbit above Earth for the next two years to study different aspects of the sun's surface, including the reason behind the outer atmosphere being 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.
Northern Lights, a spectacle of twirling, vibrant hues dancing across the night sky, stem from dynamic processes occurring on the Sun's surface. Solar flares and coronal mass ejections discharge electrons, which collide with Earth's atmospheric oxygen and nitrogen, instigating a state of "excitation" in these gas particles. This excitation triggers minor energy releases as light, as per NASA's explanations. The activity on the Sun's surface undergoes an 11-year cycle of escalation and decline, culminating in a "solar maximum" and a "solar minimum." NASA plans to delve deeper into the consequences of phenomena such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections, including monitoring Earth's atmosphere's reaction to the augmented energy outbursts that occur during more intense incidents. Enhanced comprehension of cosmic weather will prove "beneficial" for a future expedition of astronauts to the Moon and Mars, according to NASA.
Further Reading
To capture the beauty of the Northern Lights, a high vantage point away from light pollution and using a smartphone with night mode or a regular camera with a wide-angle lens, high ISO value, and a focus set to the farthest possible setting, are recommended by experts.
Despite missing out on the Northern Lights this year, there's still a chance to witness this natural phenomenon as experts predict that the peak will extend through 2025 and stretch into early 2026, making it visible in more states than usual due to increased solar activity.
