The recent rise in visible Northern Lights reflects two factors: a real increase in solar activity (Solar Cycle 25 peaked within the last year) that produced more auroras, and far greater public visibility thanks to forecasts, smartphones and social media. Auroras form in the thermosphere about 50–60 miles up when charged solar particles strike Earth.
Are the Northern Lights Happening More Often — Or Do We Just Notice Them More?
The recent rise in visible Northern Lights reflects two factors: a real increase in solar activity (Solar Cycle 25 peaked within the last year) that produced more auroras, and far greater public visibility thanks to forecasts, smartphones and social media. Auroras form in the thermosphere about 50–60 miles up when charged solar particles strike Earth.
09:33 AM, 11/13/2025Science
Are the Northern Lights really more frequent — or just more visible?
Peoria, Ill. (WMBD) — Many people have asked why it seems like the Northern Lights are appearing more often now than in past decades. The short answer: auroras themselves are governed by solar activity and have always occurred, but two things have changed recently — the Sun is near a solar maximum, and our ability to detect and share sightings has grown dramatically.
How auroras form
The Sun follows roughly 11-year cycles of activity. During the more active parts of each cycle, the Sun produces more sunspots and more frequent solar flares and coronal mass ejections. When streams of charged particles from the Sun reach Earth, they interact with our magnetic field and collide with gases in the upper atmosphere, producing the shimmering lights we call the Aurora Borealis.
These displays form in the thermosphere, about 50–60 miles (80–100 km) above the surface. The colors and intensity depend on the type of particles and the altitude where collisions occur.
Why we’re seeing more now
We are emerging from the peak of Solar Cycle 25, which reached maximum activity within the past year. That peak produced more frequent and stronger geomagnetic storms over the last two years, increasing the actual occurrence of visible auroras at lower latitudes.
Why it feels new
Even when auroras occurred in the past, most people simply didn’t hear about them unless they were very strong or covered on local news. Public aurora forecasting and alerts became widely available around 2011, and over the last decade smartphone cameras and social media have made sightings easy to capture and instantly share. What once required specialized cameras, dark skies and patient planning can now be recorded and distributed within minutes from a backyard.
In short
The phenomenon itself is driven by solar activity — we are in a period of increased activity following the recent solar maximum — but the dramatic rise in public sightings is also due to better forecasting, ubiquitous cameras, and social media. Both factors together explain why auroras feel more common today than they did in the 1980s, 1990s or early 2000s.
Historical note: archival reports show Northern Lights in Central Illinois dating back to the 1950s, underscoring that strong auroras at mid-latitudes are rare but not unprecedented.
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