This Fall Is Your Best Chance to See the Northern Lights in More Than a Decade

Skywatchers, rejoice: scientists consider 2025 to be the best year in more than a decade for seeing the aurora borealis, or northern lights. That’s because the sun is reaching the peak, called the “solar maximum,” within an 11-year activity cycle. During the solar maximum, solar storms, sunspots, and coronal mass ejections dramatically increase, sending charged particles toward Earth’s atmosphere. When those particles enter the atmosphere, the reaction creates what we call the northern lights. So this year, the northern lights will likely be brighter, more frequent, and visible much farther south than usual.

How will 2025 be special?

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Normally, the aurora borealis is visible in North America mainly in the northernmost part of the continent, usually above the Arctic Circle in northern Canada and Alaska; places like Fairbanks are particularly well-known for reliable sightings. In Europe, places like Finland, Iceland, and Norway are known for great viewing. The area where the strongest and most frequent displays happen is more or less between 60 and 70 degrees north in latitude, with 60 degrees north running just south of Canada’s northern Canadian provinces (Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut).

However, in a year like 2025, the auroral oval expands significantly southward. This means that the northern lights can be seen much farther south than usual, reaching regions like the northern United States, including states like Washington, Oregon, Montana, Michigan, and New York, and occasionally moving a far south as Illinois, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. This has already been the case for our current Solar Cycle 25, which lit up skies across North America in April 2024.

Solar Cycle 25 is expected to be stronger than the previous cycle, but potentially weaker than past notable solar cycles. However, until we move into peak viewing season, it’s too soon to say. So far in 2025, scientists have recorded solar activity that exceeds expectations, and it’s possible the best viewing could even come in early 2026. Solar Cycle 26 isn’t expected to begin until sometime between 2029 and 2032, meaning the next peak won’t be until 2036, give or take a year or two.

When and where to see the 2025 northern lights

Scientists think the sunspots likely peaked in July, based on when the sun sent out the most charged particles. However, because of July’s long days and short nights, the best months for seeing the aurora will actually be September and October. Late September into mid-October will be ideal thanks to longer nights, darker skies, and (usually) milder weather with less cloud cover.

An especially good night could be on the Autumn equinox, on September 22. On an equinox, the way the Earth is tilted in relation to the sun makes it easier for solar particles to make it through the Earth’s upper atmosphere. It’s called the “Russell-McPherron effect,” if you’re into learning more. But the gist is that it can result in nearly twice the normal amount of aurora displays.

Staying up-to-date on 2025 northern lights viewing opps

Night sky enthusiasts have plenty of ways to stay informed on when the chances for seeing the aurora borealis are at their highest. Apps can provide information on everything from the KP index (a one-to-nine scale, with five or higher indicating heavy solar activity) to daily solar wind speeds, with tips on what direction to look to see the famous swirls of pink, green, and purple. To make sure you don’t miss the best nights for aurora viewing in 2025, consider downloading the following apps or bookmarking the sources below.

• My Aurora Forecast & Alerts app: (Google, Apple) A popular app that shows the current KP index (indicating geomagnetic activity) and your chances of seeing the northern lights in a given location. It has hour-by-hour forecasts, with the ability to get notifications if conditions change.
• Geophysical Institute Aurora Forecast from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks: Provides aurora forecasts, magnetometer data, sky cameras, and short-term future predictions on aurora viewing. It’s focused on Alaska, but the data can be interpreted for further south.
• NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) Aurora Forecast: Color-coded, 30- to 90-minute predictions of northern lights activity based on real-time solar wind data, for both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres (where it’s called aurora australis, or “the southern lights.”)

Tips for photographing the aurora (even with a smartphone)

One of the most suprising aspect of viewing the 2025 northern lights for first-timers may be that photos often capture colors much brighter than the eye can see. In fact, a camera may be able to capture aurora activity even when the sky looks black to viewers. That’s because human vision at night relies on rod cells inside your retina, rather than cone cells, as used for daytime vission. Rod cells are excellent at detecting movement and light in dim conditions, but not great at recognizing color.

However, cameras use longer exposures to gather light over several seconds, giving the sensors more time to pick up the greens, purples, and reds that our eyes can’t register. You’ll get the best photos with a tripod-mounted DSLR with a wide-angle lens (try an F-stop of 2.8 and an exposure of 20 seconds). But even smartphones can take great photos.

Use your phone’s night mode and choose a longer exposure time, if possible. You’ll need to stabilize your phone in some way. While a tripod is best, you can make a makeshift tripod out of something like stacked rocks or sticks. You can lay your phone flat so the back camera points straight up, but try to balance it on something high enough that you reach the screen on the underside. Use the self-timer (or use voice control) so the impact of tapping the screen doesn’t blur your photo.

For the most striking images, include some foreground interest, like a gnarled branch, a reflective lake, or even a person silhouetted against the sky, to give your photos scale and depth.