In just a few weeks, the night sky could offer one of the most promising northern lights opportunities of the year—or even of the next several years—for viewers in the mid-latitudes.
Solar activity, which drives the aurora, is now slowly waning as the sun moves past the peak of its 11-year solar cycle, known as solar maximum, which topped out in late 2024. That decline doesn’t mean the lights are fading away overnight. In fact, a sweet spot for viewing is arriving in mid- to late March, when several favorable conditions overlap.
During both the spring and autumnal equinoxes—the former falling on March 20, 2026—the magnetic fields of the Earth and sun align in a way that makes it easier for charged solar particles to funnel into our magnetosphere. Known as the Russell-McPherron effect, this seasonal alignment statistically boosts the odds of auroral activity. Still, it’s not a guarantee.
«It’s only an enhancing condition, not a trigger on its own,» says Jonny Cooper, founder of Nordic travel company Off The Map Travel and the creator of aurora-forecasting app Aurora Buddy. «I’ve seen some great displays around the equinoxes, and I’ve also seen very little happen.» Strong northern lights visible at the mid-latitudes still require a trigger like a larger solar event, such as a coronal mass ejection aimed squarely at Earth.
But this March also brings another advantage: darkness. A new moon on the night of March 18–19 will leave skies especially dark around the equinox, helping even faint auroras stand out more vividly.
If you don’t see the northern lights next month, however, all is not lost—the northern lights won’t be disappearing entirely as the sun moves toward solar minimum. Solar activity tends to decline gradually after maximum, meaning strong displays can still pop up any time. “In high-latitude regions like the Nordics, you’re directly under the auroral oval, so even lower-level activity can still produce impressive displays,” Cooper says. “You just need to be in the right place.”