![]() And I was lucky enough to catch two solar storms, on two consecutive nights, so it was quite a display. I saw the Northern Lights in March 2018, less than 2 years before the Solar Cycle low. Best time to see Aurora Borealis Aurora watching on lake Tornetraskĭo you have to wait until 2025 to try and see Aurora Borealis?! Definitely not! It is expected to reach its peak around 2025. We are now experiencing Solar Cycle 25, which began in December 2019. As we approach the low period, solar activity decreases, which usually means fewer, weaker Auroras. This means that solar activity is also more intense and solar storms are happening more frequently. The optimal time to see the Auroras is during the peak period when the number of sunspots is highest. These extremes are determined by how many sunspots there can be observed on the solar surface. The sun has an 11 years activity cycle, during which it experiences a peak and a low as its magnetic field flips – north becomes south, and vice versa. These cannot be predicted by a lot of time, but we can get an idea of how much solar activity can we expect in a year, by looking at the solar cycle. Some of the best moments to witness Auroras are during geomagnetic storms. Since Auroras appear as a result of disturbances in the magnetosphere, caused by the solar wind when it interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field, the more intense the solar activity, the stronger the display. They usually occur in a band, called the auroral zone and are best seen at night, against a dark, clear sky.Īurora Australis can be observed from high southern latitudes in Antarctica, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, and Australia.Īurora Borealis on the other hand is visible from locations close to the center of the Arctic Circle such as Alaska, Canada, Iceland, Greenland, Norway, Sweden, Finland or Russia. They are the outcome of disturbances in the magnetosphere (made by the solar wind).Īuroras happening near the South Pole are called Australis or the Southern Lights, while the ones happening near the North Pole are called Borealis or the Northern Lights. An Aurora is a natural light display in the sky, that is usually seen in the high latitude areas of the Earth (Arctic Pole and Antarctica).
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