Dale Boan, a member of the Saskatchewan Aurora Hunters Facebook group captured these northern lights just outside of Saskatoon in May. (Submitted photo/Dale Boan)

By Teena Monteleone

Northern Lights

The growing global fascination with the northern lights

May 9, 2024 | 11:00 AM

Dale Boan is a Saskatoon software developer by day and an aurora borealis chaser by night.

“It’s a very unique phenomenon and it’s rarely the same twice, especially when it’s stronger. The patterns are always different. The behaviour is always different. Sometimes you can actually watch bands of it come from the North towards you and it’s a very, very magical experience.”

Boan isn’t alone in his fascination for the northern lights. He’s just one of 78,000 members (and growing) of the popular Facebook group Saskatchewan Aurora Hunters.

“It’s basically for northern lights enthusiasts – primarily people in Saskatchewan, but we have people from all over the world,” Boan said.

A quick rundown of the members’ list shows people joining the group from Brazil, the Philippines, India, Peru and Europe to name a few.

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Northern Lights over Anglin Lake, SK. (Submitted photo/Colin Chatfield)

Colin Chatfield originally started the social media group back in 2015. At the time, he said there weren’t many people taking photos of the northern lights. Now, the Facebook group is extremely active drawing in members with remarkable video timelapses and photos of the dynamic patterns of brilliant lights that flicker across the sky.

“We are so fortunate that we can see them as often as we do here,” Chatfield said. “I think that’s part of the allure of them, especially you know we have a lot of people who have come here, say from the Philippines for example, and they’ve never seen them before and some don’t even know what they are.”

Saskatchewan is perfectly situated to experience some of the most impressive showings. Boan said northern Saskatchewan has the same visibility Fairbanks, Alaska does.

The aurora borealis occurs when energized particles from the sun called solar wind bombard the atmosphere. The particles travel along the magnetic field towards the poles of the planet, where an energy exchange produces the colourful lights in the sky.

Boan posts a daily aurora forecast for the nearly 80,000 members of the social media group.

“It is based on the best information that NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] produces. In the U.S., they do a global aurora forecast and I adjust that for Saskatchewan times and try to describe what the probability is that we’ll have northern lights based on the forecast for tonight and tomorrow,” he said.

Aurora borealis dance above Wanuskewin Heritage Park. (Submitted photo/Colin Chatfield)

The Kp-Index is the most common way to forecast the Northern Lights. It ranges from zero to nine, with higher numbers indicating more activity. Boan said an index of Kp3 is generally needed to see the light shows in Saskatchewan.

“Kp4 is probably better if you have never seen them before. The best time is when we are closest to them and that happens between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m.,” he said.

Chatfield added wherever you are, safety is a priority. Don’t trespass on private land, stand on the roadside or park on the highway with your vehicle lights turned off.

Both Boan and Chatfield encourage anyone interested in photographing auroras to get involved with their online community because ‘you never know what you’ll discover.’ Photos could help scientists improve their understanding of the light shows. That situation played out in 2016 when aurora enthusiasts from Alberta helped scientists discover a phenomenon associated with the northern lights called ‘STEVE’ – Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement.

Chatfield said most cell phones nowadays are capable of taking some astounding photos. He’s posted some advice in the Facebook group for anyone interested in learning how to capture the auroras or where to find them. He’s been fortunate to have some pretty incredible experiences himself over the years.

“There was one photo I got where I captured a satellite streak, northern lights, a lightning storm and a sunset all at once. Wildlife is common. I’ve had skunks standing beside me or curious coyotes within 10 feet. I’ve been able to take people out to see the northern lights when there’s been a zero per cent chance of them appearing and it ends up being an amazing show,” Chatfield said.

Colin Chatfield captured aurora, the Milky Way, a space station and a lightning storm in this wondrous photo. (Submitted/Colin Chatfield)

This may be the best year to see the northern lights because of an auspicious solar cycle. This year is expected to bring increased opportunities for people to see them around the world.

According to a survey commissioned by the travel company Expedia, travelling to see the aurora borealis is more in demand than going on an African safari (44 per cent), exploring Japan during cherry blossom season (43 per cent), or visiting Machu Picchu in Peru (38 per cent).

The same survey showed 71 per cent of Canadians say they haven’t seen the northern lights but would like to in their lifetime.

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teena.monteleone@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MonteleoneTeena