There has always been only one thing that I must see or do before I die and that is witness the beauty of the Northern Lights, otherwise known as Aurora Borealis. Living in Michigan, I figured I would have to be up in the Upper Peninsula to see them. That or go to Alaska or Iceland (which I am down with doing either). In fact, I’ve even priced out a trip to Iceland during a the time of year that you are most likely to see the Northern Lights. It’s a pretty reasonably priced trip! Finding the time to go, and having it match up with the prime time to see the lights, is another story!

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What are the Northern Lights?

Very simply put, the Northern Lights are a naturally occurring phenomenon that happen when charged particles from the sun collide with the gases in our Earth’s upper atmosphere. This collision causes flashes of lights and those flashes make the lights appear as if the lights are moving and dancing in the night sky!

What Colors?

This is where the real beauty is. The lights can appear in many different colors! Those colors range from pale green (almost a fluorescent green color), pink, red, yellow, blue, and purple. How far away the lights are is how the color is determined. For example, blue, purple, and reds are less than 60 miles away, whereas bright red is above 150 miles.

When and Where Can You See Them?

The prime time to see the Northern Lights is from August through April. The peak months are October, November, and April. You can best witness their beauty near Earth’s magnetic poles.

Can you See the Northern Lights in Michigan?

The short answer is, yes! The more complex answer is that it depends. If you are up at the tippy top of the stay or in the Upper Peninsula and the conditions are right, you can see the lights pretty easily. However, there is a group here in Michigan that search for the Northern Lights below the 45th parallel. I found this group roughly a year ago and have been learning all I can about the conditions for seeing the lights, etc.

Witnessing Aurora Borealis for the First Time!

On May 10, 2024, I got an alert on my phone that there was a huge solar flare and it was very probable that I would be able to see the Northern Lights well below the 45th parallel. I mentioned it to my husband and we began driving north to get out of the city lights. We found a dark farm field and pulled off the road. I started to get upset. I wasn’t seeing anything. However, all I had to do was turn around! I couldn’t speak. Tears just streamed down my face. I had never seen anything like this before. The lights were all around us. Bright, vivid pillars; blues, pinks, reds, and greens. I couldn’t believe my eyes! For the longest time I just stood in awe, and then I began snapping pictures.

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Why Could We See the Northern Lights on May 10th?

There are a couple things that made May 10, 2024 so special that we were able to see the lights far more south than normal. First of all, there was a G5 geomagnetic storm. This storm was the strongest to hit Earth since October of 2003! This storm was caused by a bunch of coronal mass ejections (CMEs for short) and solar flares that erupted from the sun. The other thing that made this storm so special is the timing of everything. You see, this storm happened just as we were approaching solar maximum, which is the peak of the sun’s 11 year activity cycle. Interesting fact, the solar cycle can last anywhere from 9-14 years, but the peak is at the 11 year mark. At this peak, solar flares and CMEs are much more common.

If you would like to check out the Facebook group that I joined to learn more about the Northern Lights and how I can find them in Michigan, as well as other places in the world, visit this group, answer the questions, and join!