You stand in awe as brilliant streaks of pink, green, and blue dance across the night sky. It’s the latest in a series of powerful geomagnetic storms that have triggered the aurora borealis, or Northern Lights. You’d think you’d have to bone-chilling cold and the fierce arctic winter to get a glimpse of the lights. But no, here you can see them in shorts on a warm summer’s night. Welcome to this solar maximum’s unexpected aurora hotspot: New England.
Throughout 2024, breathtaking Northern Lights pictures flooded the internet from all over New England. The primary purpose of the Northern Lights project is to publish a series of blog posts to cover everything about chasing and photographing the aurora. However, as a native New Englander, I couldn’t help but pass on a few locals’ secrets in this listicle. Because widespread auroras in New England are not a once-in-a-solar cycle phenomenon. They’re a once-in-a-generation treat!
