Why I missed the Northern Lights last night (and how to see them next time)

Did you miss the most impressive Northern Lights in 20 years on October 11th? Hmm. While others exchange images of the aurora borealis taken in their backyards during the intense G4 geomagnetic storm, you may be left feeling frustrated and perplexed. And maybe you’ll feel guilty about wishing your children could experience the Northern Lights just once. A lifetime experience.

Similar exhibits are being prepared for May 10-11 and October 10-11 in 2024, 2025, and even 2026, as the sun is just before its extremely intense solar maximum. Worth it.

Here’s why you missed it all and how to maximize your chances of seeing the next big exhibit.

forbesIn photos: See the stunning Northern Lights across the planet on a historic nightby

I went to bed too early

This is a classic rookie mistake. You can sleep and watch the Northern Lights. Generally not both. Geomagnetic activity occurs in bursts and is largely unpredictable. It’s rarely useful. It doesn’t matter if you fell asleep or need to sleep right away. It can occur at any time during the night and lasts from a few minutes to a few hours. If you must sleep, set an hourly alarm and go outside on nights with a G4 or G5 forecast. You might see a spectacular explosion.

It was a cloudy sky

Sadly, this is what I had to contend with on October 10th and 11th. Where I was, a mesmerizing crimson sky could be glimpsed through the cloud cover. The forecast worsened as the night progressed. What can we do about it? Not much. With an accurate forecast, we could have driven about 90 minutes to find clear skies.

Aurora hunting (and eclipse chasing) is easy in retrospect, but there’s one rule that always applies. That means you have to take risks. This means you have to be prepared to put in a lot of effort and come back disappointed. All of this also applies if you travel to Iceland or Alaska, where the Northern Lights occur more frequently.

forbesWhere you can see the Northern Lights in the US tonight during a rare and intense global displayby

you lack patience

Patience is the rarest commodity in the world. Did you see all the buzz online about the Northern Lights, step outside for five minutes, and abandon the search? That might be the reason why you missed it.

Feeling frustrated or angry about missing out on the Northern Lights means you may not be the ideal Northern Lights hunter.

What is important is the ability to stay focused and understand that the Northern Lights are unpredictable and fleeting, and exploration often ends in disappointment.

I didn’t take a photo

The faint aurora can only be captured with a camera. Additionally, nearly all of the best images of last night’s aurora borealis have been edited to enhance color saturation and vibrancy.

In any case, if there are rumors of aurora borealis in your area, take an image of the sky (northern sky to be exact) to confirm their presence. Greenish auroras often appear as a grayish, cloudy blur in the distance. Your smartphone camera can see much better than your eyes.

forbesIn photos: See the stunning Northern Lights across the planet on a historic nightby

media cries wolf

Journalists are now shouting so loudly about the Northern Lights all the time that people are wondering what they are reading. Maybe that’s why I saw the uproar online but ignored it.

There are two things happening in this article after the stunning aurora borealis display on May 10th. And this has now doubled, following perhaps an even stronger showing on October 10th.

• Reporters who know nothing about astronomy and have never even seen an aurora, much less hunted one themselves, are writing clickbait articles about things like “Tonight’s Northern Lights.” They publish in droves. The accuracy of the article is often fine, but for most people it doesn’t need to exist. Almost all of our readers want to know only about the “big stuff,” not potential exhibits that can only be seen along the U.S.-Canada border. If you’ve ever read any of these articles and been disappointed, you know what I mean. This makes it difficult to know who to trust online.

Solution: Follow My pagecheck NOAA aurora view line,NOAA Weather forecast in 30 minutes And that X accountcontains the latest updates.

• Predicting the aurora borealis is actually very difficult, with G3 storms (seen only in the far north of the United States) sometimes turning into G4 storms (occasionally seen in the southern states of the United States), and in rare cases G4 storms turning into G5 (global). It may become. This allows some of the new wave of Aurora journalists to escape danger.

Solution: If you live outside of the northern states of the United States, ignore any mention of G1, G2, or G3 geomagnetic storms. Follow NOAA aurora view linethe Weather forecast in 30 minutes And that X accountonly use caution if a G4 (severe) geomagnetic storm is predicted. That’s very rare.

you live in a city with light pollution

Recent studies show that more than 80% of people around the world live under light-polluted skies, and artificial light has increased by at least 49% worldwide over the past 25 years.

Unfortunately, the Northern Lights are very susceptible to light pollution. You could be walking down a light-polluted city street without noticing the century-old Northern Lights above your head. Light pollution is that bad. All you can do is choose a moment to escape into the dark rural skies.

The best location is one that looks dark on a light pollution map, preferably without urban areas to the north, so you can illuminate the night sky in the exact location where the aurora borealis is most likely to appear. Other good options include the International Dark Sky Place (US/worldwide), Dark Sky Reserve (Canada), and Starlight Reserve (Spain).

I wish you clear skies and big eyes.