Northern Lights Are in the Forecast Across the U.S. Tonight. See If They’ll Be Visible in Your State.

Did you hear? You might be able to see the northern lights in the U.S. tonight. Perhaps you’ve been waiting for years to book that dream trip to see the dancing disco-lit sky in Alaska, Finland, or Norway, but you might get lucky and see them without leaving the country, as soon as tonight.

The aurora borealis, or northern lights, could put on a spectacular show across a large portion of the northern U.S. on Tuesday, November 11 and Wednesday, November 12, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

States That Could See Northern Lights Tonight

Based on the latest NOAA aurora forecast map, Space.com created this list of the 21 U.S. states that appear fully or partially above the aurora view line:

1. Alaska
2. North Dakota
3. Minnesota
4. Montana
5. Wisconsin
6. Michigan
7. Maine
8. South Dakota
9. Idaho
10. Vermont
11. Washington
12. New Hampshire
13. Wyoming
14. New York
15. Iowa
16. Massachusetts
17. Pennsylvania
18. Nebraska
19. Ohio
20. Illinois
21. Indiana

Keep in mind that aurora forecasts can change, and the northern lights can sometimes barely show up, if at all. It’s a dazzling show, though, if myriad conditions align perfectly. The best time to see the northern lights tonight in the U.S. is between 10 P.M. and 2 A.M. local time, with the peak activity expected around 11 P.M. to 1 A.M. EST during a strong geomagnetic storm, according to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.

Check out NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center short-term forecast (~about 30 minutes) along with the last 24 hours of activity on the Aurora 30-Minute Forecast page, and SWPC’s new Aurora Dashboard.

Aurora Expert Tips for Watching the Northern Lights

According to our resident aurora chaser and astrotourism columnist Stephanie Vermillion, this fall could bring the best northern lights in decades: “This autumn is expected to kick off one of the strongest aurora seasons in decades—think last year’s low-latitude displays, and potentially even better.”

This is because the sun has now reached its roughly 11-year peak of activity, known as “solar maximum,” she adds. “The bright star causes auroras by sending charged particles whizzing through space. When those electrons and ions crash into our atmosphere, they spark kaleidoscopic sky swirls that aurora hunters, like me, travel the world to see.”

While low-latitude auroras are indeed a rarity, some contiguous U.S. spots do see northern lights quite regularly during solar maximum, including the northern Great Lakes region, Outside’s aurora hunter states. “I swear by Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and many northern-border states.”

Vermillion offers her favorite tips for making the most of this once-in-a-decade aurora season, including:

Let your smartphone camera help you, not disappoint you. Your camera is likely to show the northern lights more vividly than you’ll see them with the naked eye. So don’t expect to see the northern lights’ jaw-dropping displays like what you see on Instagram (especially Vermillion’s Instagram), but do you use your smartphone or camera to monitor the sky. For your best chance to see the northern lights, try and get as far away from light pollution as possible. Then take test shots facing north to see if you can spot any green along the horizon. Most importantly, don’t forget to put the camera down, and be in the moment.

Vermillion also offers specific tips for how to take photos of northern lights with an iPhone.