Becky Layman will always remember seeing the northern lights for the first time. It was around five years ago at her cabin up in Fifty Lakes, Minnesota. “Seeing it and getting photographs at my cabin was a life goal,” she says. Despite growing up in the state, Layman spent many years believing she had to be in Iceland or Alaska to catch a glimpse of the aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights. “I never saw them because I was never looking up, and I didn’t know what to look for,” she says. “I did a lot of trial and error. I just kind of learned it on my own, even though I have absolutely zero science background.”
Layman joined various online groups to learn more about the aurora but quickly realized they weren’t geared toward people who live in the Twin Cities area. As a Bloomington resident, Layman says she can rarely see the northern lights from her backyard, but that doesn’t mean others have to drive hours outside the metro for a good show. To make this information more accessible, Layman created the Twin Cities Aurora Chasers Facebook group in 2021. “My goal was to get as many people to see the northern lights in Minnesota as possible,” she says. “I wanted to make a space for people in the Twin Cities to get ideas and make it a little more tailored to the area.” Today, the group consists of more than 21,000 members.
Like Layman, many Minnesotans may not be aware of their proximity to the aurora, whether they live in the Twin Cities, along the North Shore, or even in southern Minnesota. But with winter’s shorter days and darker nights, this is the perfect time to see the lights dance across the sky, especially as solar maximum approaches. Whether you’re a first-time watcher or a seasoned professional, understanding the basic science behind the aurora and the best viewing practices will help ensure a successful experience.
What is the aurora, really?
When it comes to the science, Cynthia Cattell, who studied auroral particle acceleration for her doctorate thesis and taught at the University of Minnesota, wants to set the record straight. “[Other media outlets] will say the aurora is caused when particles from the sun come streaming down, and they hit the poles and cause the aurora. That’s not correct,” Cattell explains. “Electrons in the solar wind are not energetic enough to make the aurora, and auroras don’t occur at the poles.”
Instead, she says, electrons can pick up enough speed in two ways. “One way is from waves in the magnetic field, and it works the same way a surfer rides ocean waves,” Cattell explains by email. “The other is from sliding down an electric potential, like a kid sledding down an icy hill.” The electrons that produce aurora essentially slide down a 1,000- to 10,000-volt battery, moving at about 100 million miles per hour. “These speedy electrons collide with atoms and molecules in our atmosphere, getting some moving faster, like bumper cars. They slow down by giving off the light we see as aurora. Oxygen is usually green, and nitrogen is usually red.”
Auroras most commonly occur in bands around the north and south magnetic poles called auroral ovals or zones, Cattell explains. Aurora borealis refers to auroras in the Northern Hemisphere, while aurora australis (or “southern lights”) refers to those in the Southern Hemisphere. Within the auroral zones, auroras are active all the time but stronger when there is more activity on the sun. The sun’s magnetic poles flip every 11 years, which defines the end of each solar cycle. This results in a period of peak solar activity known as the solar maximum. Researchers believe the current solar cycle is nearing its maximum, which could lead to some spectacular aurora shows in Minnesota this winter. At solar maximum, auroras can even be seen throughout southern Minnesota.
“They would predict that solar maximum would be in the beginning or middle of 2025,” Cattell says. “But some researchers think that we may either be in a very active solar cycle, or maybe the peak will be reached a little sooner, because we’re seeing lots of sunspots and activity on the sun right now.”
Layman and other members of Twin Cities Aurora Chasers can attest to this phenomenon, as they have seen a few strong shows in the past year. “You can already tell that it’s happening more and more,” Layman says. “It’s exciting. We’ve all been looking forward to the solar maximum for quite some time.”
Be prepared
Not all aurora experiences are going to be perfect—many may not even be successful. But folks can increase their odds of seeing a spectacular show.
Even for nonscientists, it’s relatively easy to use the planetary K (or Kp) index to gauge the state of the aurora on any given night. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), the Kp index indicates the level of magnetic activity in the Earth’s atmosphere and is often used to characterize the magnitude of “geomagnetic” storms. The index ranges from zero to nine. Higher values on the scale indicate more geomagnetic activity, which makes for brighter auroras.
Another value that plays a role is the Bz, which measures the north-south orientation of the interplanetary magnetic field. The SWPC says geomagnetic disturbances are more severe when the Bz is southward, which is indicated by negative values. Essentially, a high Kp index and negative Bz can indicate the strongest aurora shows. For predictions, Cattell recommends using online tools like the SWPC’s Aurora Dashboard and the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Aurora Forecast.
If the numbers look promising and the skies are clear, the next step is narrowing in on a viewing spot. “You need to be somewhere dark,” Cattell says. “You can’t have all the reflected light from the millions of buildings and streetlights in the Twin Cities.” Layman’s favorite hack for finding new locations is typing “public water access” into Google Maps and finding one that faces north. Additionally, members of Twin Cities Aurora Chasers often post about hot spots for viewing throughout the state.
After arriving at a spot, settle in and don’t give up too early. The aurora is strongest between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. “It’s kind of a waiting game,” Layman says.
Capturing the moment
Scott McNally is a night sky photographer who shoots the northern lights year-round. With a full-time sales career and two young daughters, McNally usually doesn’t have time to drive too far from home. In fact, most of his aurora photos are taken within an hour of his house in Woodbury. “With night photography, light pollution is the biggest issue,” McNally says. “I go to Wisconsin a lot; it’s darker over there. Within 30 minutes, I can get dark skies.”
McNally says it’s important to remember that the camera usually picks up more than a person can see unless they’re reaching latitudes farther north. “The northern lights aren’t very impressive to the naked eye unless it’s a good show,” he says. “I think it’s good for people to understand that the camera adds so much to what they really are.” In person, the lights often appear as a greenish-gray fuzz on the horizon rather than swirls of bright purple and pink.
Although this phenomenon can be disappointing at first, Layman says it can be used to an advantage. “The camera is like special glasses, where you can see this amazing event happening around you that your eyes just don’t pick up,” she says. “It’s kind of like a little secret. It’s still very beautiful.” You won’t need professional equipment to do this; a cell phone camera should do the trick, but a tripod can also help.
The moon, meteors, and more
Even when the aurora is not visible, there are other astronomical events to watch this season. Thaddeus LaCoursiere, planetarium productions coordinator at the Bell Museum in St. Paul, says to look out for a number of sky things in January and February.
The Quadrantid meteor shower will peak Jan. 3 and 4. LaCoursiere explains that the Quadrantid, one of four major annual showers, is usually robust. If the skies are dark and clear, the shower’s peak hourly rate should be over 100 meteors per hour, and the best time for viewing is after midnight. “The only special equipment you need is a lawn chair,” LaCoursiere says. “Meteors appear anywhere in the sky, so you don’t want to be looking through binoculars or a telescope, because you could miss them.”
Saturn will be visible to the naked eye through the first three weeks of January, as will Jupiter through January and February. Not to be confused with stars, planets are the brightest objects in the sky other than the moon. They don’t move or twinkle.
On Jan. 14, LaCoursiere says the crescent moon will be a few “fist lengths” above and to the left of Saturn around 7 p.m. On Feb. 14, the first quarter moon will be close to Jupiter
to the southwest.
Viewing hot spots around Minnesota:
Here are some tried-and-true recommendations by members of Twin Cities Aurora Chasers, ranked by popularity:
• Big Marine Park Reserve, Marine on St. Croix
• Lake Elmo Park Reserve, Lake Elmo
• Horseshoe Lake Public Boat Landing, Harris
• Wetland Trail at William O’Brien State Park, Marine on St. Croix
• Baker Park Reserve, Maple Plain
• Eagle Lake Observatory at Baylor Regional Park, Norwood Young America