How Come I Can Never See the Northern Lights From Where I Live?

You know the drill: Buzzy articles (like ours) claim that the northern lights, the dazzling phenomenon known scientifically as the aurora borealis, might be able to be seen in regions that don't normally get to see them. People who've been raised on photographs of spectacular views such as these begin dreaming, maybe set an alarm to head outside late at night, maybe drive outside of their city limits to try to avoid light pollution. But then their dream fizzles, and they see nothing other than a cloudy, ordinary sky. What's the deal?

Read more: The Northern Lights Are Coming Back: How to See the Aurora Borealis This Week

First off, when the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration comes out with word that a geomagnetic storm is expected, check the numerical level assigned to it. That recent May 10-11 aurora that was seen by so many people scored a G5, the highest level. Storms that aren't as high ranked aren't going to be as easy for many people to see. And of course, the aurora lights are usually seen only in very northern locations, though some storms do push the boundaries farther south.

But so often, as I wrote about in 2020 when there were high hopes for aurora sightings, the forecast changes, the northern lights get shy and people are disappointed. Is this all a spacey scam?

Bill Murtagh, program coordinator at NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center, spoke to me in 2022 about aurora disappointment. He's well aware that many of us would-be aurora spotters get bummed out, over and over. 

Seems fishy to me

Murtagh compared it to a conversation he recently had with someone who fishes for marlin, saying he asked them how many hours they spent out on the water hoping for their big catch versus how many times they really succeed.

"(Fishing) is like (looking for) an aurora," Murtagh told me. "You might be out hunting it for hours on end, and then, the perfect storm of events comes along, and you finally see it."

City disadvantage

If you live in a city -- Murtagh was talking to me from Boulder, Colorado, while I'm in Seattle -- you're already at a disadvantage.

"I've had people say, 'I went looking for (the aurora), and I didn't see anything!'" Murtagh told me. "And I say, 'Well, where were you?' And they say, 'Downtown Denver.' Ah, well, there's this thing called light pollution..."

Light pollution is pretty much exactly what it sounds like, the brightening of the night sky in the city, caused by streetlights and other sources. That inhibits our ability to see stars and planets.

Cloud cover can be a problem

But say you get in the car and drive out of your city or suburb to a rural area with no streetlights. There's an element that's out of your control -- the weather. 

"If you've got a Washington state-kind of [weather pattern], good luck," Murtagh said with a laugh, referring to my state's famous cloudiness. And clouds can roll over any state at any time, making aurora sightings even tougher to predict.

Want to try anyway?

And when, exactly, should you venture out to go aurora-spotting? Wouldn't it be nice if we could be given a prime block of time when the aurora is most likely to show up? Murtagh said that's not realistic. You want it to be dark, but that's about as specific as predictions can get.

"There's really no specific time [that's best]," he told me. "Don't let anyone tell you, 'This time or that time is when you'll see it.'" 

Aurora tourism

If seeing the aurora is on your bucket list, and you have a bucket full of travel money, consider a trip to Alaska or northern Canada, or even northern Europe.

"Anchorage, Fairbanks, Yukon, Helsinki, northern Scandinavia, those are the spots where you have a good chance to see (auroras)," Murtagh said. 

There are even trip planners now who organize tours around hoping to see the aurora.

"Aurora tourism is a big business now," Murtagh says.

Is it worth it?

So since seeing an aurora remains difficult, why do so many of us long to see them? Take another look at some of those magnificent photos and you might be reminded.

"They're just so majestic," Murtagh said. "To see the sky waving in shades of green and yellow, sometimes red and purple. It's sometimes frightening to see it. Anyone who is lucky enough to see it in all their glory knows."

Don't lose faith

All that said, we're now in a golden period for aurora sightings, Murtagh said. If we'd talked about aurora hunting every month from 2018 to 2020, there would have been almost no news to report. Then, the sun was experiencing solar minimum, the regular period of its 11-year solar cycle where there's hardly any solar activity, such as sunspots and solar flares.

But a solar maximum is now taking place and should last into 2025.

"There will be more chances," Murtagh said. "And more false alarms too!"