An aurora hunter shares tips on how to get ready for upcoming solar storms so you don’t miss a thing.

The Sun has been restless, firing jets of particles through space and turning the night sky into an unpredictable stage.

As solar activity ramps up, aurora chasers from the Arctic to central Europe are adjusting their routines, apps and cameras so they don’t miss a greenish glow on the horizon. Conversations with experts who quite literally live beneath these lights help explain how anyone can get organised to make the most of the next solar storms, which are expected to shake up the skies over the coming months.

The solar cycle enters a more active phase

The Northern Lights aren’t a miracle of chance. They come from a combination of three factors: intense activity from the Sun, Earth’s magnetic field channelling particles, and an atmosphere ready to glow when it’s bombarded with that energy.

Astrophysicists are currently tracking a period of solar maximum-the phase of the roughly 11-year cycle when the Sun produces more sunspots, flares and coronal mass ejections. These ejections are vast clouds of plasma which, when they reach Earth, can trigger geomagnetic storms and, with them, luminous curtains that spread well beyond the polar regions.

The more active the Sun, the greater the chance of intense auroras appearing at latitudes where almost nobody expects to see them.

That’s what happened recently across Europe, with sightings reported from Scandinavia to countries such as France, Germany and even farther south on nights of severe storms.

What an aurora chaser does

In Lapland-the region in the far north of Scandinavia-there are professionals who’ve turned the search for auroras into a daily job. One aurora chaser has even created his own rapid-forecast service, using public data from space agencies to translate technical numbers into something simple: “Is it worth going outside right now, or not?”

He spends nights monitoring charts for solar wind, magnetic-field conditions and geomagnetic activity indices. When conditions step up a gear, he quickly heads for dark areas, away from the lights of Lapland villages, guiding tourists and taking photographs.

The secret isn’t just looking at the sky-it’s looking at the right data at the right time.

This kind of know-how, once limited to researchers, is now reaching the wider public via apps, specialist websites and near real-time alerts.

A 30-minute forecast: the aurora “now or never”

One of the most-used tools among experienced chasers is a short-range forecast map indicating the likelihood of seeing auroras in the next 25 to 50 minutes. These forecasts are based on measurements from space probes positioned between the Sun and Earth.

Those instruments record the solar wind’s speed, density and magnetic orientation minutes before it reaches Earth’s magnetosphere. Models can then estimate how strong the geomagnetic response will be-and which latitude band is most likely to see auroras next.

• High solar-wind speed → greater chance of intense auroras.
• Solar-wind magnetic field pointing south → more efficient coupling with Earth’s field.
• A sudden rise in particle density → more abrupt storms.

For anyone out in the field, this becomes a countdown: when the indices spike, there’s a short window to travel, set up a tripod, adjust camera settings and choose the best composition.

Forecasts for days ahead: useful, but not always reliable

There are also maps that try to predict auroral activity up to three days in advance. They use propagation models for coronal mass ejections, first spotted in coronagraph imagery in space.

The problem is that these plasma clouds don’t always behave nicely. In some recent storms, particles arrived much faster than predicted, crossing the Sun–Earth distance in about a day. In those situations, forecasts made days earlier fail-or drastically underestimate the impact.

Longer forecasts help you plan travel, but anyone who wants to maximise their chances needs to follow the data almost in real time.

For the general public, that means staying flexible: plan trips to darker areas, but accept that the “main show” might start earlier than expected-or sometimes not deliver the intensity suggested by the models.

How to choose the best place to see auroras

It’s not enough for the sky to be active; your observing location matters as much as the solar physics. Experienced chasers nearly always follow the same basic logic.

Away from lights, with the right horizon

Ideally, look for places with little or no light pollution. Cities, busy roads and industrial estates wash the sky with a pale glow that wipes out the aurora’s more delicate structure.

A practical rule used in northern Europe can be adapted anywhere:

Factor	Why it matters	How to optimise
Light pollution	Reduces the contrast of the light curtains	Head to rural areas, quiet beaches or hills
Horizon	Faint auroras can appear very low	Choose spots with an open view to the north
Cloud	Completely blocks the phenomenon	Use hour-by-hour cloud forecasts
Humidity	Mist reduces air clarity	Avoid damp valleys; opt for higher ground

In mid-latitude countries, where auroras often sit closer to the northern horizon, even a line of buildings can hide much of the display. That’s why viewpoints, open fields and north-facing beaches are popular.

Equipment that makes a difference, even for beginners

To see auroras with the naked eye, you mainly need a dark sky and patience. To photograph them well, it’s a different story. Experienced chasers recommend a basic kit, even for amateurs.

The minimum aurora-chasing kit

• Camera with manual controls: DSLR, mirrorless, or a high-end phone with a strong night mode.
• Sturdy tripod: removes shake during long exposures of 5 to 20 seconds.
• Wide-angle lens: around 14 mm to 24 mm (full-frame equivalent) to capture broad curtains of light.
• Spare battery: cold conditions drain batteries quickly.
• Layered clothing: aurora photography often means standing still for long periods, and you cool down fast.

A common beginner trick is to set the camera to be more “sensitive” than your eyes. On nights with faint auroras, you might think nothing is happening-until a long exposure reveals green and purple structures already present in the sky.

Even when the aurora looks faint to the naked eye, the right camera settings can turn the sky into something cinematic.

How people in the UK can prepare for future storms

In the UK, auroras are occasionally visible-most often in Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England-during stronger geomagnetic storms, especially under dark, clear skies away from city lights. In exceptional events they can be seen farther south, but that’s much less common and usually limited to a glow low on the northern horizon.

Even when the aurora isn’t visible, solar storms can still affect systems relied on in the UK, including satellite services, GPS accuracy and some radio communications. Following these events can be a great way to get into astronomy and space weather-an increasingly important topic as society depends more on satellites.

If you’re willing to travel, places such as Iceland, northern Norway or Finnish Lapland offer far more consistent chances during the same storm windows.

Signs a storm is on the way

Experienced chasers tend to watch a few straightforward indicators that anyone can learn to follow.

• Coronal mass ejection reports: published by space agencies hours after a major solar eruption.
• Kp index forecasts: a scale from 0 to 9 measuring geomagnetic disturbance; higher values mean auroras can be visible at lower latitudes.
• Geomagnetic storm alerts: many apps send notifications when the index passes certain thresholds.

By combining these, you can set up a small “aurora watch”: mark the most promising nights, plan trips to darker locations and let friends who enjoy photography or astronomy know to be on standby.

Terms worth a quick explanation

When you start following aurora forecasts, you’ll run into acronyms and jargon that can look intimidating, but they’re manageable.

Kp index is a global measure of geomagnetic activity, from 0 (quiet) to 9 (extreme storm). In places like northern Scandinavia, auroras can show up with Kp 2 or 3. Farther south-such as much of the UK-you generally need something around Kp 6–7+, with the best chances in the far north.

Solar wind is the continuous flow of particles emitted by the Sun. When it becomes faster and denser after an eruption, Earth’s magnetosphere is shaken, fuelling stronger auroras.

Geomagnetic storm is Earth’s magnetic-field response to these disturbances. The more intense the storm, the greater the chance of widespread auroras, radio-communication disruptions and satellite issues.

Risks, opportunities and what comes next

For the public, auroras are mainly a visual spectacle. For technical sectors, major storms bring real challenges: they can induce currents in high-voltage transmission lines, interfere with GPS navigation and disrupt aircraft communications on polar routes.

At the same time, wider access to space-weather data is creating a global community of observers. Amateur chasers, photographers and curious newcomers document the sky from many locations, sharing images that help researchers better understand magnetospheric dynamics.

One likely scenario in the coming years combines more episodes of auroras at mid-latitudes with a greater reliance on rapid alerts. Tourist towns in northern Europe, Canada and Alaska already cater for “aurora tourism”, with night buses, flexible itineraries and services dedicated to translating solar charts into plain language.

Even if you don’t plan to travel, you can still benefit from this shift. Apps once aimed at scientists now offer friendly interfaces, explain indices and provide near-instant notifications. That way, when the next big solar ejection is launched, anyone with a bit of curiosity, a warm coat and a dark sky has a real chance of not missing the show.