The Northern Lights
The Northern Lights are a spectacular phenomenon that are hard to predict, and hard to forget! Their occurrence is tied to the activity of the Sun, and the solar wind caused by the eruption of spots on the Sun’s surface. This solar wind puts a pressure on Earth’s magnetic field, which is not uniform, and when we come ’round to the times of Equinox every Spring and Fall, it seems the most vulnerable part of our magnetic field is exposed to the pressure of solar wind, and an increase in aurora is the result!
Aurora predictions usually come only a day or two in advance of their occurrence, so please note that it is difficult to plan ahead if you are traveling from a great distance.
We have included here some great sites that you can research in order to help you in your hunt for aurora, and please note that we love it when you share pictures of what you’ve found in the night sky; you can email them to us at [email protected] or message them to us through the Headlands Facebook page.
Here are a few pointers from our team:
- Don’t forget to watch the weather forecast. Even the best chances are ruined by cloud cover.
- We need a strong KP4 or Higher on the Planetary K-Index to view Aurora from our Mackinaw City location.
- We don’t have a North facing vantage point at the viewing area here at the Headlands. We always recommend a viewing location with a body of water or a nice field so that you can see any activity low on the horizon. Usually, visitors at the Headlands see them well enough but may miss activity lower on the horizon that will be blocked by trees.
- No, we don’t like to offer a lot of alternative recommendations for local viewing as we don’t want sensitive areas overwhelmed with activity. Do your homework and find public land where 24-hour access is permitted. Obtain permissions for viewing.
- We are very limited on parking here at the Headlands. A clear night with Aurora forecasted will yield a high volume of visitors. Our parking lot will fill early and there is a one-mile walk to the viewing area. Come before sunset if you don’t want to walk that distance.
- Have another reason to visit. If it doesn’t work out with the Aurora, have other activities planned in the area you travel to, so that your trip is not a disappointment. We recommend the park trails, Waterfront Event Center Visitor Information Center and Gift Shop, as well as our weekly program, which is usually (but not always) on Wednesday evenings. View our Program Schedule for additional event details.
Learn more about the Northern Lights phenomenon at the following links:
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Good overall site to learn about spaceweather – you can subscribe to aurora alerts here.
Visit Website
Lots of information on this page, just click around!
Visit Website
They provide a forecast track of CMEs (Coronal Mass Ejections).
Visit Website
Another NOAA site that includes all the graphs, including ACE real-time solar wind for the bz component model.