What are the chances to see the Northern Lights in East Canada in December?

Upvote:1

You need three things to see the northern lights:

  • Darkness (winter rather than summer and as little light pollution as possible)
  • A location at the right latitude (in the so-called “aurora belt” - it actually moves depending on the intensity of solar activity but the point is that further north is not always better, although I have seen great displays in Svalbard)
  • Lack of cloud cover

This will maximize your chances to see the northern lights. Activity goes up and down and there are apps with short-term forecast but you cannot predict that a month in advance or find stable differences between places along the “aurora belt” so no need to agonize over which specific spot you are going to.

Perhaps a bit surprisingly, the most important factor on which your choice can have some influence is therefore the cloud cover (and not the aurora activity itself): check climate charts, avoid places on the coast, look at the weather forecast when you hit the road, etc.

Upvote:4

The map cited by the original poster @Hans Tausend (copyright 2012) is outdated, and the solar maximum mentioned is long past.

For current information on space weather see this page from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. See the forecast video about 1/3 down the page on the right. Unfortunately the forecast only goes out 24 hours.

I haven't spent much time in eastern Canada and don't have any first-hand information about whether aurora is commonly visible this month. Visibility of aurora has more to do with activity on the sun than with the season of the year (as long as it is dark enough at the time of the aurora).

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