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12/29/2017 09:11PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
I have never seen the Northern Lights and would like to someday. Is there a better time of year here in MN to see them? Also, if anyone has pictures of them feel free to share.
 
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OSLO
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12/29/2017 09:15PM  
CanoeViking: "I have never seen the Northern Lights and would like to someday. Is there a better time of year here in MN to see them? Also, if anyone has pictures of them feel free to share. "

You can see them any time of year, but the best times are around the fall and spring equinoxes. Unfortunately, the sun is in a very quiet period right now, so good shows are far and few between. If you are just passively interested in seeing them, join a group on Facebook and you'll get a lot of notifications when the lights are out. There are many groups to choose from--Great Lakes Aurora Hunters is a popular one, but in my opinion they got too big and had too much noise from some very vocal members. Upper Midwest Aurora Chasers is still pretty good.

If you are willing to learn a little about the lights, you are far better off using some resources yourself, and before long you'll be able to predict when they'll be out with a pretty high degree of accuracy. Here are some good sites:

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/real-time-solar-wind (This is the best resource available, in my opinion. But you do need to learn how to interpret the graphs.)
http://services.swpc.noaa.gov/images/aurora-forecast-northern-hemisphere.jpg (Also really good once you learn to read it.)
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/27-day-outlook-107-cm-radio-flux-and-geomagnetic-indices (Subject to frequent change and guarantees nothing, but look for dates with high Kp values--4+ means decent chance of lights.)
https://spaceweatherlive.com/
 
muddyfeet
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12/29/2017 10:08PM  
What oslo said.

This is one of my favorite photos. It was taken Mothers Day 2016 over the Mississippi.
 
12/29/2017 10:21PM  
Northern Lights are really bright in the winter time. Sometimes they're so bright they can reflect off the snow.
 
OSLO
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12/30/2017 10:38AM  
Canoearoo: "Northern Lights are really bright in the winter time. Sometimes they're so bright they can reflect off the snow."

They may appear really bright in the winter because of the snow and low humidity in the atmosphere, but their strength is just dependent on the interaction of our planet with the solar wind streaming past it. One big downside of winter (other than bitter cold) is that you have a lot of cloudy days. There certainly is something magical about standing on a frozen lake in complete silence watching the northern lights though!
 
12/30/2017 10:52AM  
The presence of Northern Lights is dependent upon solar "flares" on the sun. The sun goes through an 11 year cycle and solar activity peaked in 2013-14 and has been slowing ever since.

That being said, this year we have had fewer solar flares, but what we had produced some nice Northern Lights in March and September.

Solar flares can occur at any time, so it is hard to predict them ahead of time, except for the fact that greatest activity (and least) occur every 11 years.
 
OSLO
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12/30/2017 11:29AM  
awbrown: "The presence of Northern Lights is dependent upon solar "flares" on the sun. The sun goes through an 11 year cycle and solar activity peaked in 2013-14 and has been slowing ever since.


That being said, this year we have had fewer solar flares, but what we had produced some nice Northern Lights in March and September.


Solar flares can occur at any time, so it is hard to predict them ahead of time, except for the fact that greatest activity (and least) occur every 11 years."

All true, except that solar flares are not the only mechanism for producing the aurora. Coronal holes are still regularly present, even when the sunspots which generate solar flares are not. Coronal holes can produce some nice northern lights, and as an added bonus, their next appearance can usually be predicted with a high degree of accuracy (although they can diminish or disappear before they rotate back into view). The 27 day outlook is therefore generally based on the coronal holes currently on the sun. Speaking of which, tomorrow night there is a decent chance of northern lights due to a coronal hole. Probably nothing spectacular, but could be worth checking out.
 
QueticoMike
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12/30/2017 12:20PM  
I have seen them mostly in the fall.
 
Basspro69
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12/30/2017 07:53PM  
QueticoMike: "I have seen them mostly in the fall. "
+1 Of the 7 times ive seen them most have been in the fall .
 
Grandma L
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12/30/2017 09:53PM  
I use this web site to track the Lights
Northern Lights Predictor
 
QueticoMike
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12/31/2017 10:55AM  
I have seen them twice here in west central Ohio. I have seen them on about 10 % or a little more of my trips into the Boundary Waters and Quetico.
 
QueticoMike
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12/31/2017 10:57AM  
The first time I saw them was on my second trip to Quetico. It was our last night in the park and we were hitting the bottle pretty good that evening when the clouds started moving around like we were watching flames in a fire. Then they formed a half dome of beams behind the campsite to the south. We didn't know what was going on until we figured out it was the northern lights. They weren't red or green colored like the pictures I always saw, they were just like the color of a light bulb.
 
12/31/2017 10:59AM  
Lights photos


more lights

and more lights

three of my favorite Up North photographers.
 
12/31/2017 12:27PM  
Mocha: " Lights photos



more lights


and more lights


three of my favorite Up North photographers."


Wow! Those are amazing!
 
OSLO
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12/31/2017 09:33PM  
QueticoMike: "The first time I saw them was on my second trip to Quetico. It was our last night in the park and we were hitting the bottle pretty good that evening when the clouds started moving around like we were watching flames in a fire. Then they formed a half dome of beams behind the campsite to the south. We didn't know what was going on until we figured out it was the northern lights. They weren't red or green colored like the pictures I always saw, they were just like the color of a light bulb."

Yeah, when the northern lights are weaker, you generally won't have color. That is what most people end up seeing, and unfortunately many are very disappointed by the experience because they have unrealistic expectations. You certainly can see a lot of movement and colors, but only when you have a fairly strong geomagnetic storm. Even with strong northern lights, one display can have fast movement and fairly weak colors, while the next one can has slower movement but brilliant colors. All part of the fun of getting out and seeing the shows.

The photo below is one I took in August 2016, near Ely. The lights were really bright and the colors were brilliant (for some reason, the uploading process here made it look really grainy).


The chances of northern lights tonight are still pretty high, but unfortunately the full moon is probably going to wash them out.
 
dicecupmaker
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01/01/2018 12:18AM  
About 4-5 years ago we had great Northern lights on Malberg Lake. From about 0130 til 0330. It was the best! I brought one of my nephews that year and it was the icing on the cake!
 
01/01/2018 02:34PM  
CanoeViking: "I have never seen the Northern Lights and would like to someday. Is there a better time of year here in MN to see them? Also, if anyone has pictures of them feel free to share. "


The best time to see the northern lights is in the winter. The nights are much longer then and start early. The downside is that the lakes are frozen and it is so hard to paddle the canoe and it can be rather cold.
 
OSLO
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01/01/2018 05:12PM  
Article from NASA regarding when you are most likely to see the northern lights:
"It turns out that rope-like magnetic connections between Sun and Earth are favored in springtime. It's a matter of geometry: As Earth goes around in its orbit, Earth's tilted magnetic poles make different angles with respect to the Sun, tipping back and forth with a one-year cadence. Around the time of the equinox, Earth's magnetic field is best oriented for "connecting-up" with the Sun.

But wait, there are two equinoxes, spring and fall, with similar magnetic geometry. Indeed, studies show that fall is aurora season, too. Geomagnetic disturbances are almost twice as likely in spring and fall vs. winter and summer, according to 75 years of historical records analyzed by solar physicist David Hathaway of the Marshall Space Flight Center."
 
inspector13
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01/02/2018 08:21AM  

I’m surprised you state that since Wyoming MN seems to be outside the influence of urban glare, and my sister in Chisago Lake Township has seen them from her house.

 
01/02/2018 11:07AM  
inspector13: "
I’m surprised you state that since Wyoming MN seems to be outside the influence of urban glare, and my sister in Chisago Lake Township has seen them from her house.


"



I'm closer to Forest Lake and to the south the light from the cities is quite visible. I think the bigger problem its sounding like is I don't stay awake long enough.
 
mntentman
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01/03/2018 08:34AM  
I try to go out to see the lights three or four times a year, from the Twin Cities. I usually drive out near Sherburne Wildlife Refuge, or up by Stacy, which is where this photo was taken. I saw them in Iceland about a year ago, for five night straight... fantastic.

 
Dalesfunkyglass
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01/07/2018 09:38PM  
I've taken several trips north of the cities to see them In the past year. Times include late March-lutsen, mid July-Boulder lake north of Duluth, late October-Split Rock state park, August-Gunflint trail area, also at Sherburne wildlife refuge & Crex meadows. Usually they are white/greenish. Long exposures with a camera can also pick up more colors including reds/magenta’s.
 
01/10/2018 11:11AM  
mntentman: "I try to go out to see the lights three or four times a year, from the Twin Cities. I usually drive out near Sherburne Wildlife Refuge, or up by Stacy, which is where this photo was taken. I saw them in Iceland about a year ago, for five night straight... fantastic.

"


Those are amazing. Im not far from Stacy, I really need to stay up later and star gaze more.
 
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