Chasing Wisely: Top 5 Low-Value Practices to Avoid

The aurora is nature’s most spectacular light show, and you need to experience it! When you catch your first glimpse of the lights, it’s rewarding, exhilarating, and oh so beautiful. Unfortunately, though, many travelers embark on a journey to see the aurora and are unsuccessful. While it is certainly possible to get unlucky with the weather, under the auroral oval, the lights are visible nearly every clear and dark night. Whether you're a first-time chaser or a seasoned traveler, avoiding common mistakes can be the difference between a magical night under the northern lights and a frustrating experience. Here are the five practices aurora chasers should definitely not make a habit of!

Don’t use Kp index while aurora chasing

Many aurora chasers rely too heavily on the Kp index, but this is a major mistake. The Kp index is a measure of global geomagnetic activity averaged over a three-hour period—it’s not a real-time forecasting tool, and it can’t tell you about aurora happening near you. The equivalent of saying “The Kp is a 3 right now” in terrestrial meteorology is like saying “The worldwide rainy level is a 3.” If your goal is to know when a tornado is about to hit your home, how does a “worldwide rainy level” help you? There’s no way to tell whether a thunderstorm will form near you… Hopefully, now you can see the problem with the Kp. 

While the aurora happens around the world, it can flare up and intensify quickly in short, localized bursts called “substorms.” These only last around 15-30 minutes and therefore are not registered by the Kp index which outputs a new value every three hours.

Substorms are extremely important to understand if you want to be an expert aurora chaser, so to learn more, download my free e-book “A Beginner’s Guide to Aurora Chasing,” and read my in-depth blog article on the subject.

Auroral substorm with poleward expansion as recorded by Jeremy Kuzub with the AurorEye camera system in Yellowknife, NWT Canada. North is at the top of the all-sky image with east to the left. Substorm begins around 0:40 in the video.

The Kp index is a problematic tool that leads many aurora chasers astray! Especially if you are chasing the lights at high-latitudes, you may see the Kp index bump up a couple notches after a strong substorm, but too late to catch the best of the display. You may also feel discouraged to go out chasing if the Kp is only forecasted to be a 1 or 2. 

[insert graphic showing the best aurora over every night in a two-week period with the kp index at the time of the screenshot. This shows that kp=/=auroral activity]

First off, these forecasts are more like guesses and almost never play out, and second off, remember that under the auroral oval, there is always some aurora, regardless of what the Kp or any other index will tell you. I have talked to so many tourists in Fairbanks who decided to stay in since the Kp was predicted to be low only to miss a beautiful display caused by an auroral substorm. Some of the best auroras I have ever seen came when conditions were “quiet” according to the Kp (Kp 1-2).

What should you use instead of the Kp? For North American chasers trying to time substorms, the GOES magnetometers are powerful tools. If you prefer a simpler metric, consider the AE (Auroral Electrojet) index and look for values around 500 nT for decent high-latitude aurora and 1000+ nT for stronger substorms. During large geomagnetic storms, the AE index can go off the charts! 

[insert photo or video correlating auroral activity with GOES mag, Kp index, and AE index; could use THEMIS MOSAIC movie maker to get the auroral activity or just use one ASI]

However, for several reasons, AE index often lags behind substorm activity, so the Glendale app, ground magnetometers (short tutorial here) and GOES mag still rule for tracking substorms in real-time. For more practical tips on substorms, check out my recent blog article: “What Is an Auroral Substorm? A Practical Guide for Beginners.”

Pro Tip

A forecast can’t get more accurate than seeing the aurora in real-time, so surveying aurora webcams near your area and constantly refreshing them is a nice way to monitor activity from inside. Aurorasaurus.org and online aurora chasing Facebook groups are other ways to get real-time information from chasers on the ground about what’s going on.

Auroral substorm seen looking north from Ely, MN. Video comes from Larry Olson's very helpful aurora webcam which live streams the night sky every night.

Don’t wait until the last minute to book your trip

Photo from Maia's tours.

Many people assume they can book a trip to see the aurora at the last minute, a few days or weeks in advance, but this often leads to disappointment. Popular auroral oval destinations such as Fairbanks, Tromsø, Yellowknife, and Rovaniemi have limited accommodations that book up quickly during peak times. Flights and rental cars also become more expensive the closer you get to your travel dates.

Many aurora tour guides, including Maia, Levi, Greatland Adventures, and Face the Outdoors who I am partnered with here in Alaska, book out months in advance. For example, March-April is peak aurora chasing season in Fairbanks (and many other areas), and Maia and Levi are usually fully booked for this peak time by early February. It may be possible to snag 1-2 seats on these tours last minute, but if you are traveling with your family, young ones, or have any special situation like a marriage proposal, you want to book your tour earlier rather than later.

A proposal during the 2025-2026 aurora season from Maia's tours.

Aurora chasing is an investment of your time, energy, and money. Don’t settle for less by booking at the last minute. You will have a higher-quality experience the more time you give yourself to craft the perfect aurora chasing vacation.

When should you book last minute?

In a handful of situations, it may be worth waiting to book your trip to the Arctic until a few days before you travel. If you fully accept that the best accommodations and aurora tours may be booked up and flights and rental cars may be limited and expensive, you can wait until there is forecasted geomagnetic activity and clear skies to book everything.

Photo from Maia's tours.

If you check the 3-day Kp forecast from NOAA SWPC and see forecasted geomagnetic storms (e.g., Kp 5/G1 or Kp 6/G2), understand what may be causing the anticipated activity. Nothing is ever guaranteed, but if the storm is forecasted from a coronal hole, it may have a higher chance of arriving than if from a coronal mass ejection (CME). High speed solar wind streams from coronal holes typically give great shows for high-latitudes. The NOAA SWPC forecast discussion usually includes a review of solar features, such as coronal holes and CMEs, and anticipated geomagnetic impacts.

Predicting clear skies is similarly difficult, especially during the fall months when there is more moisture in the air and uncertainty in cloud models. Forecasts are generally not reliable even one day in advance, and I have even seen real-time weather on my iPhone say “overcast” in Fairbanks as I look up at a beautiful auroral display and crystal clear skies. Cloud cover may also be thin enough to see bright auroral displays through or contain enough gaps for intermittent clear viewing.

Photo from Maia's tours.

During the winter when the atmosphere is colder and more stable, cloud cover models, while still never 100% reliable, are more useful. Looking 1-3 days out, if I see many model types agreeing on clear skies, that’s a good sign. If I see cold temperatures (e.g., -20 F/-30 C in January) and calm winds, I’ll get even more excited.

Photo from Levi's tours.

Clear skies are more important than geomagnetic activity when chasing under the auroral oval, so if you see a stretch of good weather in the forecasts, feel free to take a gamble as long as you accept that it could backfire. High geomagnetic activity is a bonus but not required for seeing auroras in the polar regions.

Pro Tip

When you book your aurora tour, try and reserve a night in the beginning of your stay. Weather in the Arctic is unpredictable, and overcast skies may postpone your tour. Most operators will rebook you for their next availability, however, during peak season, you may have to wait a few nights for an opening in their schedule (assuming you don’t have any conflicts, either)! Scheduling your tour early on just allows more flexibility if things don’t initially work out.

Photo from Maia's tours.

Don’t Pick the Wrong Time of Year for Your Adventure

Aurora chasing in the fall (left) vs. the winter (right) in Fairbanks, Alaska.

While the aurora is technically active year-round, it is called an aurora “season” for a reason. Depending on where you are traveling, certain months are better than others, and a unique effect also causes auroral activity to slightly peak around the equinoxes.

When is “aurora season,” exactly?

The term “aurora season” exists because at high-latitudes (northern or southern hemisphere), during the summer months, the Sun does not set at all or low enough below the horizon for sufficient darkness to see aurora. As you increase in latitude, these effects become more pronounced. There are varying stages of “night” depending on how far the Sun sets below the horizon. From lightest to darkest there is civil twilight, nautical twilight, astronomical twilight, and full night.

Auroras typically become visible around the start of astronomical twilight (nautical dusk).

On the summer solstice in Fairbanks (64.5°N), there are 21 hours 50 minutes of daylight and only civil twilight at night, whereas in Tromsø, Norway (69.6°N), there are 24 hours of daylight. In Churchill, Manitoba (58.8°N), summer solstice means 18 hours 25 minutes of daylight with civil twilight and nautical twilight at night, for a couple hours. In Fairbanks, the earliest I have ever seen auroras was on July 29 with only around 90 minutes of nautical twilight. 

Popular aurora chasing locations and their season lengths based on first and last night with astronomical twilight.

The display lasted a few minutes before it was overpowered by the Sun rising. Traditionally, aurora season in Fairbanks is said to run from around August 10 until April 21 (+/- a few days depending on who you ask) which is about when we start to experience astronomical twilight conditions (and start to run our tours). Even on August 10, though, it is only dark enough for a couple hours at night to see the aurora. 

Beautiful aurora reflections near twilight in Fairbanks, Alaska. Photo taken in early September from Maia's tours.

A very bright display may be able to be seen through stronger twilight. If we define the aurora season to be all nights where there is at least some astronomical twilight, then Fairbanks' aurora season lasts from August 17 to April 24. Tromsø’s aurora season is only from September 1 until April 14 because its latitude is higher than Fairbanks. In Churchill, the lower latitude really helps out. Auroras there can be seen around July 26 to May 20. 

Auroral spiral from Churchill, Manitoba in September 2022.

Since the auroral oval dips down over North America, you don’t need to travel as far north to get an equivalent aurora as you would in Europe. In fact, although Churchill is around 550 miles (885 km) further away from the north geographic pole than Tromsø, it is at a similar geomagnetic latitude!

Months to avoid

Whether you are traveling to Churchill, Tromsø, Fairbanks, or any other auroral oval destination in the northern hemisphere (I’m excluding Antarctica since unless you have official business there, you probably won’t be going to the South Pole during their winter season…), you will want to avoid June and most of July. Excluding Churchill, May is out of the question as well. So, don’t try to see the aurora during the summer, and instead, plan your aurora chasing vacation around the equinox months or winter season.

Auroras are stronger over the equinoxes!

During the months surrounding the equinoxes (August-October and February-April), auroral substorms are more frequent. This is especially noticeable at high latitudes and during coronal hole high speed streams. The exact name for this phenomenon is the Russell-McPherron (RM) effect, and speaking from experience, I definitely notice a little uptick in auroral activity around the equinoxes, especially when space weather data look “weak.” This effect is strongest during fast solar wind from coronal holes. Around the winter solstice, auroras don’t become dimmer or any less spectacular, but the RM effect won’t be helping.

Image of a coronal hole, credit: NASA.

Some months are clearer than others

Photo from Maia's tours.

Okay, so the months around the equinoxes are good, and summer is not dark enough to see the aurora, but we can narrow down the “best times” even more by looking at what months have the clearest skies. This will vary from location to location, but in most Arctic areas, August and September are okay, October and November are cloudier, December and January see improvement, and February through April are the clearest. 

The aurora near Fairbanks, Alaska. Photo from Maia's tours.

This pattern is certainly true for Fairbanks, Alaska where we see the clearest weather in March and the cloudiest weather in October. I have heard that this is not true for Churchill, Manitoba, though, and that early autumn and December and January are the best times. 

The aurora in Iceland in January 2023.

Iceland is famous for its bad weather, and while I have been lucky in January with 4/6 clear nights on one trip, I know many photographers who have not had that luck and been completely clouded out for nights in a row. I am not an expert on weather patterns in Scandinavia, but I have heard that a similar pattern to Fairbanks’ weather plays out. Coastal regions (e.g., Tromsø) will have cloudier and warmer weather than inland destinations (e.g., Rovaniemi).

Aurora from Hamnoy, Norway by Piotr Krzeslak (licensed).

Don’t go to Bed Too Early

One of the biggest mistakes aurora chasers make is giving up too soon. Whether this is because they think the aurora is “done for the night” or because of jet lag and fatigue, auroral displays can and often do peak later in the night. When and why does this happen, and how can you be efficient with your time so that you stay up as late as you need but not any more? Let’s talk about it!

Photo from Maia's tours.

Understanding Aurora Timelines

If you have read my recent blog on auroral substorms, then you know the aurora follows a broad pattern of growth, expansion, and recovery one or two times in a night. The expansion phase is when the aurora “explodes” across the sky and the best displays are seen. 

Substorm phases seen from a webcam in British Columbia, Canada on June 1, 2025.

If you understand substorm sequences, you can use that knowledge to recognize growth phase aurora which signals a possible substorm expansion later. If you see a growth phase aurora, don’t go to sleep yet! Similarly, after a substorm expansion, if you see a recovery-phase aurora, as long as you are satisfied with what you saw earlier, it’s safe to at least nap for a couple hours or even call it a night. If space weather activity is enhanced, it’s possible to see more substorms in a given night, even up until the hours before sunrise. Activity usually starts earlier on more active space weather nights, too. On these nights, it doesn’t hurt to stay up as late as you can.

Keeping yourself awake

Photo by Johnnie Rocknrolla (licensed).

If you decide to aurora chase on your own without a guide, and especially if you are driving, you will need to stay awake. This is easier said than done. As someone who has traveled all over the world, jet lag is real and can be debilitating, but I have found some strategies that work for staying awake… and even if you are only jumping a few time zones, airports and flying in planes will still make you tired. 

Photo by Alberto Gonzalez (licensed).

What has always worked for me is if I am trying to stay awake at night, I will try to stay active and outside, constantly drink water, and eat small snacks every 10-15 minutes (e.g., chips, granola bars, etc.). Stepping outside in the cold or turning your vehicle’s heat down in the winter is also a good way to make your body more “uncomfortable” - your survival instincts will oppose sleep if it “thinks” it’s too cold. Be mindful of hypothermia, though! If you are struggling to stay awake with these strategies, it may be time to call it a night and take a nap or drive home safely rather than risking frostbite.

Photo from Maia's tours.

When running aurora tours or workshops, I always try to take a short 20-30 minute power nap in the evening, and I drink a cup of coffee as I am heading out at night. If I see we are in a substorm recovery, I may take another quick nap for 30 minutes to keep myself going into the late hours of the night. Make sure you are staying hydrated as well. This will help you stay awake and feel more energized.

Pro tip

It’s best to take an aurora tour even if you think you have what it takes to stay awake at night. Any good aurora tour guide will be able to stay awake and will alert you when things are getting good. On most of the tours I have run or been a passenger for, guests end up sleeping on the way home or in-between substorms, which is fine since nothing is really happening during those times. But, on your own, falling asleep at the wheel could end in disaster for you, and a quick nap could be dangerous if you sleep through your alarm. It’s best to leave things to the professionals, at least for the first couple nights as you adjust to the new time zone and sleep schedule.

Don’t Try to Figure out How your Camera Works in the Middle of the Night

Capturing the aurora with your phone or professional camera is the perfect way to immortalize the amazing memory of seeing nature’s most spectacular light show. However, aurora photography is more challenging than you may think, and many beginner aurora chasers struggle. While the full details can be read in my “Complete Guide to Aurora Photography” e-book, let me tell you some of my top tips, cover the basics, and also let you know common mistakes to avoid.

Smartphone Photography

Almost all modern smartphones can take beautiful images of the aurora. In fact, most phones use an automatic “night mode” to enable long exposure modes to let in more light and capture faint details. This requires no added work on your part, which is nice, but there are a few tricks to maximize image quality. 

Some of my favorite iPhone photos of the aurora I have taken.

First, if you have a newer (as of spring 2026) iPhone, if you can mount it on a tripod or lean it against something where it doesn’t move, a “30 second” shutter mode will be unlocked besides the usual settings. Try using the 30-second mode to maximize the light your phone can gather. This will boost image quality. On most iPhones, 10 seconds is the longest shutter speed your phone can use if handheld. If you can keep a steady hand, use this shutter speed as opposed to the default 2-, 3-, or 5-second modes. This goes for all phones with night mode, too. Try to use the longest shutter speed option to boost image quality slightly.

Second tip is to feel free and edit your photos, even if you think they’re “just” smartphone photos. As you all know, auroral substorms can cause the skies to erupt in minutes. Some of my favorite moments under the aurora were captured on my iPhone because it was the camera I had with me at the time. I use the editing sliders in my Photos app, but if you want to get fancy, enable RAW shooting mode if your phone allows and load your shots in a RAW processor like Adobe’s Photoshop Lightroom which is available as a mobile application. Apply simple adjustments to exposure, contrast, and saturation to give your photos a bit more pop! 

For more smartphone photography tips, including how to capture real-time video on your iPhone, check out my “Complete Guide to Aurora Photography” e-book!

DSLR/Mirrorless Camera

Photo from Maia's tours.

If you want to step up your photography game, you should definitely try photographing the aurora with a DSLR or mirrorless camera. If you don’t have any gear but you’re in the market for a new kit, I have multiple recommended aurora photography gear packages at different price points in my “Beginner’s Guide to Aurora Chasing” and “Complete Guide to Aurora Photography” e-books.

If you’re new to aurora photography, then the basic settings are:

• Aperture: lowest f-number (widest aperture).
• Shutter speed: this will vary and take fine-tuning, but 5 seconds is fine for an active auroral display and 10-20 seconds is common for a fainter show.
• ISO: I use Auto ISO, but any value between 1600-6400 is fine. Just make sure you are not blowing out highlights or clipping shadows.
• White balance: This can be changed later, but I always have it on manual mode around 4000 K.
• Focus: Manual focus set at infinity.

If any of these terms are unfamiliar to you, I have a blog article “25 Important Photography Terms Everyone Must Know” which will help you get up to speed.

If you want to capture an aurora timelapse, I have a blog on that which you should check out!

As a workshop guide and someone who has captured millions of aurora photos, here are the two most common beginner mistakes I see in aurora photography and how to avoid them:

Many aurora photographers panic when the aurora starts to dance and get active. I suggest that when you witness your first auroral substorm expansion phase (if you don’t know what that is, read here) you just take it all in and maybe try to take one or two photos with your camera. Enjoy the experience first before worrying about what you’re capturing. On tours and workshops I have led, photographers get overwhelmed to the point of frustration when they have to quickly adapt to the brightening sky and swivel their camera to track the aurora which can move quickly. A well-planned timelapse can alleviate some of this chaos, but for your first time, it’s completely okay to watch and observe the aurora and what to expect.

Some beginner aurora photographers forget about composition. I totally get it, and I was this way for a long time - it’s very easy to forget about your foreground when your number one priority is capturing the sky. Many beginners don’t include the horizon or any grounding elements, instead opting for tree branches or a frame with 100% sky. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with this (and some corona aurora shots can look stunning), good compositional technique suggests including a balance between foreground elements and sky interest. I like to follow the “one-third” rule for landscape photography which states that if your photo’s subject is in the sky, your photo should be 2/3 sky and 1/3 foreground. Conversely, if your subject is in the foreground (e.g., a tide pool, wildflowers, or a flowing stream), your photo should be 2/3 foreground and 1/3 sky. This ensures good compositional balance and results in a more pleasing photo to the eye. Take some test shots while the aurora is still building, nail down your composition, then when the action picks up you won’t have to reposition and create a stressful situation!

An example of the rule of thirds for aurora photography. Photo from Maia's tours.

Have an aurora photography tip you’ve learned or a mistake you want to warn others about? Leave a comment under this post or tell me about it in an email! I’m always looking forward to hearing from you and learning new things.

Bonus Tips for a Successful Aurora Chase

How can you make your experience under the aurora as comfortable, successful, and safe as possible?

Dress for the cold. Standing outside for hours can leave you freezing or even worse, frostbit and hypothermic. Wear multiple layers including a base layer (long underwear), insulated boots, and apply hand warmers to stay comfortable. Check out my free e-book, “A Beginner’s Guide to Aurora Chasing” for specific winter gear recommendations and my Fairbanks Visitor’s Guide to understand what you will need to bring if you want to visit Alaska to see the aurora.

Bring snacks and hot drinks. A thermos of hot chocolate or coffee can make long waits more enjoyable and help keep you awake on long nights aurora chasing. One of the biggest reasons people fail to see the aurora is going to bed too early. Constantly eating small meals or snacks along with drinking water and coffee is a good way to stay more alert past your normal bedtime. Bringing water and snacks is also a good safety measure in case you get stranded away from town or end up driving far away from gas stations or water sources and need to stay hydrated.

Stick to cell service. While newer iPhones actually have satellite connectivity built in with T-Mobile set to roll out Starlink internet to some customers later this year (2025), to stay safe in remote areas, it’s best to avoid places without cell service in case your car breaks down or someone becomes injured and you need to call emergency services. Cell service also lets you check space weather data (e.g., GOES mag) and webcams in real-time, adding context to the aurora you are seeing. Like I’ve said before in my first substorm blog post, while you can technically aurora chase with just your own two eyes and an understanding of the auroral substorm cycle, comparing with space weather data is one way to anticipate when an expansion phase may occur (or not). Finally, cell service lets you check cloud cover and areas that may be clearing up if you are chasing on a partly-cloudy night. If you are planning to view the aurora somewhere outside of cell range, download road and satellite maps offline on your phone, tell someone where you are going and when you plan to be back, stick to well-traveled roads, and ideally, carry a satellite phone with you.

Find a dark location: Avoid city lights. While light pollution can, in some instances, make the aurora look more colorful (don’t know why, read here), in general, it’s best to avoid light-polluted areas to see the aurora in its full beauty. For the best areas near Fairbanks to watch the aurora, check out my e-book: “My Top Aurora Chasing Locations near Fairbanks, Alaska.” If you are aurora chasing further from the auroral oval, make sure to position yourself north of cities/towns in the northern hemisphere (since you will be looking north to see aurora) or south of light-polluted hotspots in the southern hemisphere (since you will be looking south). For example, when I lived in Grand Forks, North Dakota, I would head east, west, or north to find darker skies so I wasn’t looking back into Grand Forks when trying to spot northern lights on the horizon. This may seem like an obvious fact, but it’s easy to simply find the darkest sky overhead on a light pollution map without realizing what cities may be visible on the horizon.

Aurora and light pollution near Fairbanks, Alaska. Photo from Maia's tours.

Stay flexible. Cloud cover can change on a whim or not follow model predictions. Roads may be closed or your favorite aurora chasing spot may be overrun on a forecasted high-activity night. Have backup locations and be ready to change plans if needed. Furthermore, the aurora itself is, at the end of the day, unpredictable. While there are patterns to look out for and space weather data to leverage in the field, part of the fun of aurora chasing is knowing what surprises you will see. Each night is different.

Photo from Maia's tours.

Final Thoughts

Aurora chasing is an exhilarating experience, but avoiding these five common mistakes will greatly increase your chances of success. Use real-time data, plan your trip early, choose the right time of year, stay out late, and master your camera settings.

By preparing ahead of time, you’ll maximize your chances of witnessing nature’s most stunning light show. Happy chasing!

Acknowledgements

Thank you to Tanya Melnik for helping me edit this blog.