Northern lights: Coming to a sky near you?

Most people have seen the northern lights in movies — gloriously vibrant hues of purple, red, and green, undulating gently like magical, breezy curtains across the sky.

However, fewer people — including many longtime Eden Prairie residents — have actually seen them in real life.

The northern lights — a natural phenomenon also known as the aurora borealis — are polar auroras caused when solar flares release clouds of gas that then collide with Earth’s magnetic pole. There are also southern lights in the southern hemisphere, known as aurora australis.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), these collisions produce light similar to how electrons flowing through gas in a neon light collide with neon and other gases to produce different colored light bulbs.

However, it’s extremely uncommon to spot the northern lights in Eden Prairie, partly because it is usually too far south. Heading north toward the northern magnetic pole, such as to Canada, Norway, or Alaska, can dramatically increase the odds of seeing them.

It’s also key to look for auroras at night, usually between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time, when the aurora is most active and geomagnetic activity is peaking. Head as far away as possible from light pollution and clouds, and ideally, find a high location with a clear view of the northern skies. Eden Prairie most likely has too much light pollution to get a good view of the northern lights at any time.

Yet even in ideal conditions, auroras can be so subtle that they are easily missed.

EPLN photographer Gretchen Haynes, who has successfully seen and photographed the northern lights, shared some tips for how to capture the lights.

How to spot the lights

People serious about spotting the northern lights can start by downloading an app that tracks the solar storm activities linked to increased chances of viewing them.

One such app is simply called Aurora. There’s also a Facebook page called Upper Midwest Aurora Chasers which can be a good source of timely information.

However, the aurora forecast can change rapidly, so before setting out, it’s a good idea to check the 30-minute forecast as well.

The NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center has forecasts and a lot of detailed scientific information about what auroras are and how to know when geomagnetic activity is strong enough to create them.

Geomagnetic activity, caused by solar activity and solar coronal holes, is given a planetary K index, or KP index (KPI), from 0 to 9. The higher the number, the more active the geomagnetic field, and the more likely the aurora borealis will be visible further south.

Haynes, who uses an aurora app, said, “If the KP Index goes over 5, I will get the alert on my iPhone,” Haynes said. “If it starts to get close to 6, I will hop in my car and head out.”

Unfortunately for Eden Prairie’s would-be northern lights chasers, strong solar flares predicted to occur this week appear to be diminishing. With that, so too are the chances of viewing the aurora borealis. However, things could change, and forecasts show the chances will rise again next week.

In fact, the entire next year is likely to offer increased chances to view auroras since an 11-year solar cycle is about to peak.

“We are building up to that now,” Haynes said. “My husband and I are planning a trip to Iceland or Norway in the fall of 2024 or the spring of 2025 because they should be peaking. And then after 2025 it will gradually reduce again for the next 5-6 years before it hits the lowest level because the tilt of the Earth isn’t ideal for them.”

How to spot the northern lights

Haynes said that to view or capture the northern lights on camera, there are three important necessary factors:

1. High KP-Index. In order to see the lights clearly this far south and get decent photos, the KPI should ideally be 6 or higher.
2. Clear skies. The northern lights can still be visible when the cloud coverage goes up to about 30%. Higher than that, and the lights are likely to be blocked.
3. Dark skies with as little light pollution as possible.

Haynes has spotted the lights multiple times, most recently on March 23, 2023.

“As soon as my Aurora alert went off, we hopped in the car and started driving west on 212,” she said. “We watched out the windows until we saw a subtle flickering of lights. Then we exited the highway and started driving on country roads looking for a clear view to the north without any lights.”

This is what Haynes’ camera captured:

However, she said, “Our first location ended up being a busier road than we hoped for with too many headlights, so we moved to a narrow gravel road and tried again.”

Haynes said this is what her camera “saw” there:

Haynes explained, “I say ‘what my camera saw’ because that part is important. Our eyes have a more difficult time distinguishing the lights than a camera does. This far south, most people do not recognize that they are seeing them unless the KPI is close to 8 or higher. Otherwise, it looks like an odd flickering in the sky.”

How to capture the northern lights on camera

Haynes said that a basic point-and-shoot or phone camera will show a little bit more than the naked eye can see. But with a decent camera and a tripod, using a long exposure will allow more of the light to be captured.

“I used a 5-second-long exposure for the photos I took above,” she said. “The KPI that night was over 7. You can use up to a 30-second exposure if you want it very dramatic, but then it can get a bit muddled. Because the index was so high, I kept the exposure shorter so as not to have too much light entering the shutter.”

Haynes said that many people who think they have failed to spot the northern lights simply don’t realize what to look for.

“When people think of northern lights, they think they will see what they see in photos, especially what they see in photos from professional photographers,” she said.

Haynes said it was important to remember that the human eye cannot see the lights like a camera, especially when a long exposure is used. She said photos are also often edited to appear more vibrant.

For example, Haynes edited the first photo below to show stronger colors, whereas the slightly paler image has not been edited or enhanced. Yet as bright as even the paler photo is, Haynes said she almost could not see them with her eyes.

“When I took those photos, I could see some slight flickering of lights, but they move so quickly and are shown so briefly, that if I didn’t know what to look for, I would have assumed they could not be seen,” she said.

“That is why the camera helps. It cannot see them as quickly as our eye. So the photo slows them down enough for the light to really show. This far south, that is what will happen.”

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