This past weekend we had a MAJOR solar storm that produced an amazing show of northern lights. We could see greens, pinks and reds with the naked eye. We had excellent weather and no clouds. One of the coolest things was that you could see the sky moving before it was totally dark! I did a time lapse video to try and capture the moving waves of color. Check this video out…

This was one of the most powerful solar storms that I’ve ever seen. To see pink and reds without a camera was astonishing. And it wasn’t only on the horizon. The entire sky was lit up with moving colors. I really hope everyone gets a chance to see the northern lights this year during solar maximum.

If you are wondering when the best time to see the aurora borealis this year I’d stick with new moon cycles to give yourself the highest chance of dark skies. June and July aren’t usually great for auroras due to extended daylight hours. However, May is also usually not good, but this time it worked fine for us. The new moon for August and September is the first week of the month. The last few days of September and the first few days of October will also be dark. September is usually best!