Nathaniel Rees
I was first introduced to the northern lights (or aurora borealis) through The Golden Compass, a fantasy book in which parallel universes abound, talking polar bears stalk the icy landscape, and the aurora dances overhead. At eight years old, talking polar bears sounded a lot more plausible than the northern lights. What do you mean the sky shimmers with vivid ribbons of red, green, and magenta? As soon as I confirmed with my parents that the aurora was, in fact, real and viewable on Earth, seeing the lights vaulted to the top of my bucket list.
I figured that my best chance to see the northern lights would be booking a flight to somewhere cold and distant - Norway, perhaps, or Iceland. After all, Aurora-Chasing 101 is basically: travel north. But life had other plans. I didn’t catch the aurora on some desolate snowfield near the North Pole. The first time I saw the lights, I did travel north, and I was on a snowfield that you could describe as desolate - but I was less than 90 miles from downtown Seattle.
What causes these celestial light shows?
According to research published in the journal Nature Communications, the aurora is caused by the “precipitation of very energetic magnetosheath particles from the magnetospheric boundary layer on the dayside… [by] quasi-static, field aligned currents… [or by] energetic electrons accelerated by Alfvénic fluctuations.” If you’re a physicist by trade, congrats on knowing what a magnetosheath particle is. Personally, that sentence nearly gave me an aneurysm.
A simpler explanation is that the aurora forms when charged particles from the sun collide with Earth’s upper atmosphere at incredible speeds. That process begins when a triggering event - such as an explosion from the sun’s surface - releases charged particles into the atmosphere. These particles are then carried by solar wind (a continuous flow of particles away from the sun) toward our planet.
“Flow” is a bit of an understatement - particles carried by solar wind surf along this cosmic highway at speeds up to 45-million miles per hour. When these charged particles reach our thin upper atmosphere, they collide with nitrogen and oxygen, creating the dancing reds, greens, and magentas that we call the aurora.
That’s how a normal aurora forms. But the most impressive and vivid light shows occur after a coronal mass ejection - essentially, a massive sneeze by the sun (like a Dad Sneeze, but less violent). These ejections can send up to a million tonnes of particles barreling toward Earth’s atmosphere.
Last May, a stunning seven coronal mass ejections occurred in the span of four days (again, like a Dad Sneeze, one is never enough). According to NASA, the resulting auroras were probably the strongest display in 500 years. Folks in unexpected places, such as Florida and Northern India, even reported sightings.
In Washington, it seemed as though everyone and their mother saw the dancing lights. But if you missed the show, or just want another bite of the apple, fear not: 2025 is shaping up to be an even better year for aurora sightings.
The northern lights dazzle over the North Cascades. Photo by Manny Pacheco.
An unexpected light show on Mt. Baker
Confession: even as a self-proclaimed aurora-chaser, I had no idea that Washington was poised to experience a once-in-500-year northern lights viewing experience last May. On the day of the strongest lights, May 10, I was busy ascending to 7,000 feet on Mt. Baker as part of the final field trip for The Mountaineers Winter Mountaineering and Advanced Crevasse Rescue course.
That evening, as our crew boiled snow and prepped our dehydrated dinners, the conversation inevitably turned to bucket list trips. (Mountaineers love nothing more than talking about other adventures when they’re smack in the middle of one.) I mentioned that my dream was to travel to see the northern lights. Our trip leader looked up from his Mountain House lasagna and said: “You won’t have to travel far. Just step outside your tent tonight, dude.” Everyone but me laughed - clearly, I’d been living under a rock when the aurora storm was forecast. It had never felt so good to be the butt of a joke.
I won’t forget the moment I stepped outside my tent at midnight and saw the northern lights for the first time. The sky was awash with threads of ephemeral greens, magentas, and reds, thrumming through the night as though they had a life of their own. I journaled afterward that the lights were “transcendental,” “magical,” “hypnotic” - but no words could adequately capture how I felt. What I will say is that the experience moved me to tears. And that I now have a new line in my bucket list: see the aurora again.
Turns out, I may not have to wait very long.
The light show unfolds over The Mountaineers camp, nestled just below the Easton Glacier on Mt. Baker. Photo by Nathaniel Rees.
A skier ascends the Squak Glacier after an unforgettable night of aurora-gazing. Photo by Manny Pacheco.
2025: A blockbuster year for auroras
While we probably won’t see another once-in-500-years event, the 2025 aurora season is shaping up to be the most active in over a decade.
That’s because of heightened solar activity associated with the current solar cycle. The sun operates on an 11-year cycle, and scientists believe we’re near or just past the peak of that cycle: an especially busy phase called the Solar Maximum. In other words, the sun is wide awake and feeling energetic, which means there’s a high probability we’ll see supercharged displays of the northern lights this year.
So, how can you maximize your chance of seeing the aurora? If you live in northern parts of the U.S., you may not have to travel further than your backyard. And while November through February offer the darkest nights, scientists say March and September could be especially breathtaking months for auroras.
Chasers be warned, though: auroras are fickle creatures. They often appear at a moment’s notice and fade to nothing within a blink of an eye, so be prepared to stand outside for hours in the hopes of catching a glimpse. That’s why it’s a good idea to follow aurora alerts. Ever since I nearly missed last May’s auroras, I’ve used the Hello Aurora app to track the likelihood of seeing the lights in Seattle. And if you are lucky enough to catch a glimpse, help track the aurora by reporting your sighting at NASA’s Aurorasaurus.org.
Scientists expect 2025 to be a historic year for aurora sightings - one we’ll be talking about and reminiscing upon for generations. Happy chasing!
You can see more of Manny Pacheco's work on Instagram (@pmannyy) and at mannypr.com.
This article originally appeared in our spring 2025 issue of Mountaineer magazine. To view the original article in magazine form and read more stories from our publication, visit our magazine archive.
