Guides

Aurora guides

Everything you need to understand the northern lights and actually catch them — the science, the planning, the camera settings, and how our live forecast turns it all into a straight answer.

Photography

How to photograph the northern lights

The exact camera settings (ISO, aperture, shutter), how to focus in the dark, the gear that matters, and how to shoot the aurora on a phone.

Science

What causes the northern lights?

The science, simply: how the solar wind, Earth's magnetic field and the atmosphere combine to make the aurora — and why it glows green, red and purple.

Science

Aurora colours explained

Why the northern lights glow green, red, pink and purple — which gas glows at which altitude, plus STEVE and the eye-vs-camera difference.

Space weather

What is the Kp index?

The 0–9 scale every aurora forecast revolves around, and the Kp you need to see the lights from your latitude.

Planning

Best time to see the northern lights

The best months and hours, how the equinoxes and the solar cycle affect your odds, and a month-by-month breakdown.

Planning

Where to see the aurora

The latitudes and places the northern and southern lights actually reach — and why it's your geomagnetic latitude, not the map, that decides.

Methodology

How the forecast works

How we turn NOAA space-weather data, darkness, cloud and the moon into a single honest yes / no / maybe for your exact spot.

Planning

Aurora packing list

The cold-weather clothing and camera gear aurora chasers actually pack — as a checklist you can tick off.

Planning

Aurora self-drive guide

Renting a winter-ready car and driving Arctic roads safely to chase clear sky — the biggest lever on your odds.