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Yup. I taught one Summer in Barrow, AK. When I got back people asked if I saw the Northern Lights! Heck the sun comes up in May and doesn't set til the end of August!

Moose10 wrote:
Take a trip to Fairbanks, AK.

Just not in the middle of summer.

Take a trip to Fairbanks, AK.

NOAA has a Space Weather Prediction Center. On that site (scroll down one screen) is a Aurora forecast overlaid on a satellite view of the northern polar area showing the forecast for the next 24 hr as a video. Click play and it will show the probability of seeing an aurora as a video loop for those parts of the globe.

How far south from the geomagnetic pole you can see the aurora depend the amount of energy in a solar "storm", which is correlated with sun spot activity and the solar cycle. Reported as Kp value on the NOAA site. For more information about Kp and aurora, and how it effects viewing check out the NOAA tips on viewing aurora page. Also on that page is an Image Map for North America that shows relation of Kp and geomagnetic latitude and aurora visibility. Other maps of either hemisphere and alternate views can be found there as well. Since they moved the map from an older website it is no longer interactive.

Really impressive aurora display over Montreal in the PBS NOVA video Edge of Space starting at 50:06 minutes

Other Products on the NOAA space weather site are:

27 day forecast of Kp

Aurora 3 day Forecast

Aurora - 30 minute forecast (every 30 minutes for the next 24 hrs)

Space Weather Enthusiast Dashboard

The last few weeks have frequently had norther lights. I work night shifts all the time, and have noted that the most common time in northern Alberta to see them is about 1 am. There are some iPhone apps that send out an alert on nights that the northern lights are out

They have been out almost every night (normally midnight-5am) for the past three weeks up here in south central Alaska.

Harleybullet wrote:
Homeless If that is the case then Sept 21 would also be good ??? ....Dave

True but I think that the dry cold winter weather helps to clear out a lot of air pollution: dust, pollen, humidity, etc.

LeRoy

Just curious - where in Canada do you plan to go to view the Northern Lights. Your posting makes it sound like once you cross the border from NY into Ontario or Quebec, you will suddenly be in wilderness and viewing the N.L. will not be a problem.
FYI - it is very hit and miss when they appear. You need to be in a fairly dark area for the best viewing. From experience late in October is good but the best I ever saw them was in early July one year while living in Sudbury, Ontario

I just got back from Iceland a week ago and one night people saw the lights for about 3 minutes - the next night only for a few seconds. That is definitely north and has lots of darkness only a few minutes outside of Reykjavik the capital.

Good luck in your venture.

Homeless If that is the case then Sept 21 would also be good ??? I would love to hear of someone who viewed the lights on the eastern side of Canada where it would be closer to NY and plenty dark....Dave

The Spring equinox (March 20 in 2016) is suppose to present the Best display of the Aurora Borealis according to everything that I have read. At that time, the nighttime skies are generally the clearest and the earth's equator is inline with the sun which helps the magnetic field direct the northern lights towards the south. The further north you go the better your chances of seeing a great color display. You also need to be in an area of very dark sky: no ground lights.

LeRoy