Where are the northern lights?

The best place to see the northern lights changes depending on the solar cycle, the time of year and a variety of other factors. Generally, however, northern lights visibility is normally better the closer you are to magnetic north.

“The location of the northern lights can change depending on the solar wind,” Geoff says. “They tend to happen nearer the poles where particles can enter the atmosphere more easily, but the aurora can move closer to the equator depending on the conditions.”

The region where the northern lights are most common is known as the annulus. This is a ring-shaped region centred on the northern magnetic pole that’s around 3,000 kilometres across.

Countries inside the annulus, including Finland, Iceland and Canada, are generally the best places to see the northern lights.

When solar activity is strong enough, however, the annulus can expand and reach more southerly nations, such as the UK and USA. This is most common around the time of the solar maximum.