Four things decide whether you see the northern lights, according to the space weather forecasters at NOAA in the United States: how active the sky is, where you stand, how dark it is and the hour. The first is up to the sun. The other three are booking decisions, and this winter's calendar is already fixed: the moon is full in the early hours of Christmas Eve, new moons fall on 9 December, 7 January, 6 February and 8 March, and Tromsø has no sunrise from late November to mid-January. The sun itself is past its peak but not quiet. NOAA's sunspot count, averaged over thirteen months, peaked in October 2024 and has fallen since. Even so, NOAA's forecasters confirmed a severe geomagnetic storm on 19 January 2026, more than a year after that peak, and NASA notes that fairly significant storms often come in the declining years of a cycle. This guide sets out the dark weeks, how much night each aurora base gets and when its season ends, the forecasts worth checking on the night, and how to keep a phone working at minus twenty. After that, our own side of it: the plan for each Nordic country, and the nights when a chase over a border calls for more than one.
What decides whether you see the aurora
NOAA's forecasters list four factors. Activity comes first, measured on the Kp index from 0 to 9. From 0 to 2 the aurora stays far north and dim; from 3 to 5 it moves further from the pole and becomes brighter and livelier; from 6 up it can reach the northern edge of the United States. Where you stand matters as much. If you are under the auroral oval, NOAA says a Kp of 3 or 4 can already give a very nice display, and Tromsø's tourist board describes the town as lying beneath that oval.
Then come darkness and the hour. The sky has to be properly dark and away from town lights, and NOAA notes that a full moon dims how bright the aurora looks to you, though not the aurora itself. The best displays usually come within an hour or two of midnight, between about 10 pm and 2 am local time, and on active nights they start earlier and run later. NOAA also points to a tendency for larger storms near the spring and autumn equinoxes, with a catch for March trips: the nights shorten fast after the spring one.
- Activity: the Kp index, from 0 to 9. You cannot choose it, only watch it.
- Place: under the auroral oval, a Kp of 3 or 4 is enough.
- Darkness: no town lights, no midnight sun and, ideally, no full moon.
- Time: around midnight, from about 10 pm to 2 am.
The sun this winter: past its peak, still producing storms
The sun runs in cycles of about eleven years, and NOAA's numbers say this one has turned. Averaged over thirteen months, the sunspot count peaked in October 2024. The single busiest month was August 2024, and by October 2026 the monthly count was about a fifth of it.
That does not make this a quiet winter. When NASA and NOAA announced the solar maximum in October 2024, NASA added that fairly significant storms often come in the declining phase of a cycle, though less often than at the peak. The record since bears it out: NOAA's forecasters confirmed severe (G4) storm levels from 19 January 2026, and were expecting strong (G3) storms as recently as 10 October 2026.
None of this can be booked. A storm is not something you can put in a calendar, so the lever you control is the number of nights you stay: each extra night under a dark sky is another chance.
The dark weeks: new and full moons from November to April
The moon is the one part of the night sky you can plan around years ahead. These are the dates in NASA's tables of lunar phases for this winter. NASA gives them in Universal Time, so a phase late in the day can fall on the next date in Lapland.
The week either side of a new moon gives the darkest skies. Around a full moon a strong display still shows, but faint ones fade into the moonlit sky, and that matters for Christmas trips: the moon is full in the early hours of 24 December, European time. By New Year's Eve it is past its last quarter, which falls on 30 December, and shrinking towards the new moon of 7 January.
March has its own case. The new moon on 8 March comes twelve days before the equinox on 20 March, the time of year NOAA links with larger storms. Further north the nights are already shrinking fast by then, so March works best in its first half and at the bases where darkness lasts longest into spring.
- New moon 9 November 2026, full moon 24 November
- New moon 9 December, full moon 24 December
- New moon 7 January 2027, full moon 22 January
- New moon 6 February, full moon 20 February
- New moon 8 March, full moon 22 March
- New moon 6 April, full moon 20 April
Polar night and the last dark nights, base by base
Polar night means the sun does not rise at all, not that it is black for twenty-four hours: Tromsø's tourist board says the town still gets a few hours of twilight each day. For an aurora hunter what counts is the hours of full darkness, which we take here as the sun more than 12 degrees below the horizon. We worked out each base with NOAA's solar formulas, for the town centre at sea level; mountains around a town keep the sun out of sight for longer.
Two things follow. A December trip anywhere on this list has more night than you can use, so choose the week by the moon. A late March or April trip is a race against the light: the further north the base, the earlier its season ends, and Reykjavík, Fairbanks and Yellowknife keep their dark nights two to three weeks longer than Tromsø.
- Tromsø, Norway: no sunrise from 28 November to 14 January, so the sun last sets on 27 November and returns on 15 January, the dates the tourist board gives. About 16 hours of full darkness a night at midwinter and about 7 on 20 March; the last night with full darkness is around 10 April.
- Alta, Norway: no sunrise from 26 November to 16 January; full darkness until about 9 April.
- Abisko, Sweden: no sunrise from 6 December to 6 January; full darkness until about 14 April.
- Kiruna, Sweden: no sunrise from 11 December to 1 January; full darkness until about 15 April.
- Saariselkä, Finland: no sunrise from 6 December to 6 January; full darkness until about 14 April.
- Rovaniemi, Finland: the sun still clears the horizon at midwinter, for a little over two hours; full darkness until about 19 April.
- Reykjavík, Iceland: about four hours of daylight at midwinter; full darkness until about 26 April, in line with SafeTravel's season of late August to late April.
- Fairbanks, Alaska: 3 hours 42 minutes of daylight at midwinter; full darkness until about 23 April.
- Yellowknife, Canada: just under five hours of daylight at midwinter; full darkness until about 1 May.
Where your phone connects: a plan for each Nordic base
Each Nordic country has its own data plan with us, and each connects to local networks there:
The prices line up more than people expect. Norway, Sweden and Finland are priced identically at every size the three have in common, and Iceland matches them up to ten gigabytes, costing about a fifth more for a twenty-gigabyte month.
For Yellowknife, Whitehorse or Fairbanks, check that the network our plan uses there reaches the town you are staying in before you buy: Rogers in Canada, and AT&T and Verizon in the United States. Wherever you go, the days of a plan only begin when the eSIM first connects on arrival, so buying early costs you none of them: buy it now, install it at home and land with it ready.
- Norway, for Tromsø, Alta and Lofoten: our Norway plan connects to Telenor and Telia, both at 5G.
- Sweden, for Abisko and Kiruna: our Sweden plan connects to Telia, Telenor and Tre, all at 5G.
- Finland, for Rovaniemi, Levi, Saariselkä and Inari: our Finland plan connects to DNA, at 5G.
- Iceland: our Iceland plan connects to Nova and Síminn, both at 5G.
When the chase crosses a border
Aurora tours follow clear sky, not a timetable, and in the Arctic the borders are close. Our Norway guide covers the nights a Tromsø tour ends up in Finland, and Abisko sits on the railway and the road from Narvik, so a Norway base can turn into a Swedish evening.
A country plan has no data across the border. If your trip might cross one, our cheapest Europe plans cover Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and the UK in one, at the same price as a single country plan for one, three or five gigabytes. At ten gigabytes the cheapest of them costs about a fifth more than a country plan, and at twenty about two fifths more, so a long stay in one country is still cheaper on that country's own plan.
Unlimited data follows the same pattern. Three days of unlimited on the cheapest Europe plan cost exactly what three days cost in Norway alone, and a week costs less than a tenth more.
- Tromsø with tours that might reach Finland: a Europe plan.
- Narvik with an evening or a day in Abisko: a Europe plan.
- A week or more in one country: that country's plan, cheaper from ten gigabytes up.
The forecasts worth checking, and why they need data
The forecasters themselves publish what you need, free of charge:
Activity is only half the picture. SafeTravel's rule for Iceland is that it must be dark outside and the sky must be clear. On the night that means switching between an activity reading, a cloud map and the road conditions, often from a car park far from any Wi-Fi, which is exactly when a data plan earns its keep.
- NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center: the Kp index, storm watches and a short-range aurora forecast.
- Iceland's Met Office: an aurora forecast next to a cloud cover forecast, the pair SafeTravel points visitors to.
- The Finnish Meteorological Institute: readings from its magnetic stations, shown as a low, medium or high probability of auroras right now.
- The Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks: an aurora forecast three days ahead, in Alaska time.
- Space Weather Canada: current conditions with short-term and long-term forecasts.
- AuroraWatch UK, run by scientists at Lancaster University: free alerts when the aurora might be visible from the UK.
Your phone at minus twenty: what the cold does
Apple designs iPhones for air temperatures between 0 and 35°C. In very cold conditions outside that range, its support page says, battery life can shorten for a while and the phone can switch itself off; it returns to normal once it warms up. A phone that is too cold may also not charge.
So the cold is a battery problem first. Plan the night around it:
- Keep the phone in an inside pocket between photos, and bring it out when the sky starts to move.
- Carry a power bank and charge the phone once it has warmed up, not while it is frozen.
- Pack a headlamp or a torch, which SafeTravel advises on top of your phone's light, so the phone is not your only light at the end of a long night.
Photographing the aurora with your phone
Our eyes see colour poorly in the dark, so a faint display can look like pale grey curtains while the screen shows it green.
On iPhone 11 and later, Night mode switches itself on in low light. Apple's advice is to hold the phone steady or rest it on a solid surface or a tripod, and for a longer capture to tap the Night mode button and choose Max. With a tripod, Night mode Time-lapse records the sky as it moves.
On a Google Pixel, open Night Sight, point the phone at the sky and set it down on a stand or tripod without holding it: the shutter switches to Astrophotography by itself and counts down while it works. Google's advice is to get away from city lights first.
Photos are light to send and video is not. Share stills from the car park, and leave long clips for the hotel Wi-Fi.
Driving to the dark: roads, parking and 112
Iceland's search and rescue association runs SafeTravel, and its aurora advice is blunt: never stop on the road or step into it to take pictures, because drivers cannot see you in the dark; park only in a designated place; check the weather and the road conditions before you set off; and bring food, warm drinks and a charged phone. You can leave a travel plan with SafeTravel, and its app can send your GPS location to the 112 emergency service. Our Iceland guide covers where the signal is on the Ring Road.
SafeTravel also warns that Iceland is switching off its 2G and 3G networks, and advises visitors to check before arrival that their phone works there, because the change may affect calls to 112.
In Norway there are 23 mountain passes on the national road network, and in winter the road authority can send traffic over them in convoy behind snowploughs, one in front and one behind, or close them with a barrier. E10 over Bjørnfjell, the road between Narvik and Abisko, is one of them. For a convoy it asks drivers for a full tank or a charged car battery, warm clothes, food and a hot drink, and it asks everyone never to drive past a closed barrier.
Frequently asked questions
When is the best time to see the northern lights in winter 2026-27?
Book around a new moon between November and March: in NASA's tables the new moons fall on 9 November, 9 December, 7 January, 6 February and 8 March. Be outside within an hour or two of midnight, which NOAA gives as the usual peak, at a base under the auroral oval such as Tromsø. More nights mean more chances, because nobody can book a storm.
Is Christmas 2026 a good time to see the northern lights?
It can be, with one catch: the moon is full in the early hours of 24 December, and NOAA notes that a full moon dims how bright the aurora looks. A strong display still shows; a faint one is harder to pick out. If your dates can move, the weeks around the new moons of 9 December and 7 January are darker. Either way the Arctic bases have long nights then.
When does the polar night start in Tromsø in 2026?
The sun sets for the last time on 27 November 2026 and returns on 15 January 2027, the dates Tromsø's tourist board gives and the ones NOAA's solar formulas produce. In between it does not rise at all, though there are a few hours of twilight each day. When the returning sun becomes visible depends on where you stand and the mountains around you.
Can you still see the northern lights in April?
In early April, yes, at most bases; after that it depends how far north you are. Using NOAA's formulas, the last nights with full darkness are around 10 April in Tromsø, 14 April in Abisko and Saariselkä, 19 April in Rovaniemi, 23 April in Fairbanks and 26 April in Reykjavík, and Yellowknife keeps them until about 1 May.
What Kp do you need to see the northern lights in Lapland?
Less than many expect. NOAA's guidance is that if you are under the auroral oval, a Kp of 3 or 4 can already give a very nice display, and Tromsø's tourist board says the town lies beneath that oval. The further south you are, the stronger the storm you need: NOAA puts the northern edge of the United States at around Kp 6 or 7.
Is the solar maximum over, and is winter 2026-27 still good for the aurora?
On NOAA's sunspot count, averaged over thirteen months, the peak came in October 2024 and the count has fallen since. That has not stopped big storms: NOAA confirmed severe (G4) storm levels on 19 January 2026, and NASA says fairly significant storms often come in the declining phase of a cycle. What you control is darkness, place and the number of nights.
Can an iPhone photograph the northern lights?
Yes. iPhone 11 and later have Night mode, which turns on by itself in low light. Rest the phone on something solid or a tripod, and for a longer capture tap the Night mode button and choose Max. Keep the phone still until the countdown finishes.
How do I photograph the aurora on a Google Pixel?
Open Night Sight, point the phone at the sky and set it down on a stand or tripod without holding it. Once it is still, the shutter switches to Astrophotography on its own; tap it and keep the phone still through the countdown. Google's advice is to get away from city lights first.
Why does my phone switch off in the Arctic cold?
Apple designs iPhones for air between 0 and 35°C. Below that, its support page says, battery life can shorten for a while and the phone can turn itself off, recovering once it warms up, and a phone that is too cold may not charge. Keep it in an inside pocket between photos and charge it after it has warmed.
Which eSIM covers a northern lights trip to Norway, Sweden and Finland?
Our cheapest Europe plans cover all three, plus Iceland and the UK, at the same price as a single country plan for one, three or five gigabytes. For a long stay in one country, that country's own plan is cheaper from ten gigabytes up. A Norway, Sweden or Finland plan on its own has no data across the border.
Do northern lights forecasts work without mobile data?
Not usefully: a forecast is live information, and what matters on the night, activity, cloud and the roads, keeps changing. Download offline maps for the drive, but keep data on for the forecasts. NOAA, Iceland's Met Office and the Finnish Meteorological Institute all publish theirs free.
Is it safe to drive at night to chase the northern lights in Iceland?
It can be, if you follow SafeTravel's rules: never stop on the road or walk into it for a photo, park only in a designated place, check the weather and the road conditions before you set off, and carry food, warm drinks, a headlamp and a charged phone. Leave a travel plan with SafeTravel, and remember that the emergency number is 112.