TIL most people think the Northern Lights are only visible in winter

I saw them clearly in Talkeetna last August, you just need a clear, dark night. Anyone else caught them outside the usual season?

3 comments

3 Comments

tessa_kelly12d ago

People act like this is some huge revelation but it's just basic astronomy. The aurora doesn't care what month it is, it cares about solar flares hitting the magnetosphere. August in Talkeetna makes sense, you're far enough north and it gets dark enough. Spent a weekend in Denali during a September solar storm and saw green curtains for three hours straight. The whole "winter only" thing is just people repeating what they heard from someone who heard it from someone else.

the_dakota1mo ago

Got a great view of them from Fairbanks in late September a few years back. The key is solar activity and a dark sky, not the temperature. I was surprised how bright they were that early in the fall. It's a total myth that you have to wait for deep winter.

the_wesley1mo ago

Actually, you do need some cold... it clears the air and cuts down on light haze. But yeah, solar activity is the real star of the show.