Northern Lights Alert: Best Places, Timing & Photography Tips for 2025’s Auroras
The absolute peak of Solar Cycle 25 is expected around July 2025, with about 115 sunspots mid-year. Noaa SWPC recorded a G2 geomagnetic storm on August 9, 2025, and issued G1–G2 watches on multiple days that month. Norway’s Tromsø (69°N), Alta, and the Svalbard archipelago (74–81°N) offer frequent auroras, with best viewing from late September through March and peak darkness November–January. Iceland’s prime viewing runs September to April, with the Westfjords and northern Iceland offering the clearest skies near popular spots like Thingvellir National Park and the Reykjanes Peninsula. Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories (62°N) experiences about 240 aurora nights