How often does an Aurora Borealis occur?

There are times, though, when the lights are farther south, usually when there are a lot of sunspots. Sunspot activity follows an 11-year cycle. The next peak will occur in 2011 and 2012, so opportunities to see auroras outside their normal range should be good. For more information on auroras, check out the links on the next page. read more

Auroras happen continuously but are generally confined close to the north and south magnetic poles, when there is a storm on the sun the aurora can spread further outwards. read more

The Northern Lights are often referred to as 'night aurora' because they occur on the night side of the Earth and they commonly appear in the early evening and continue late into the night. Although this is the most usual form of aurora, during winter on Spitzbergen, where it is dark even at midday, it is possible to observe the rarer 'day aurora' which occurs on the 'day side' of the Earth. read more