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Rachel Ward-Maxwell, a researcher and programmer for astronomy and space sciences at the Ontario Science Centre, explains it is unlikely the northern lights will be visible in southern Ontario and Canada over the next few days.

This is according to the U.S.’s  and Space Weather Canada data. However, there are no predictions yet for Sunday night or Monday night, she noted.

Although there was a large solar storm Wednesday, Ward-Maxwell said it appears it mostly missed the Earth — so we won’t be seeing aurora from it. It did, however, cause some radio blackouts.

Ward-Maxwell said this storm may indicate more activity to come.

Jamie Worne, one of the moderators of the , said it would be guess at this point.

Worne said a southern hemisphere coronal hole is facing Earth, which comes with the possibility of enhanced solar wind in the next three days or so.

How does this weekend compare to the stellar northern lights display seen last May and October?

On Mother’s Day weekend last year, May 10 and 11, 2024, and also on Oct. 10 and 11, 2024, the northern lights were very strong and unusually visible at much lower latitudes and even in light polluted areas like Toronto.

Ward-Maxwell explains these amazing shows were thanks to severe (G4-G5) level geomagnetic storms.

While we may not see this kind of activity this weekend, she said the sun is currently approaching peak activity of its 11-year cycle, which explains why we saw a few stellar events in 2024 and why we can expect to see many more opportunities to view the .

Why is it hard to accurately predict aurora forecasts?

Aurora forecasts are quite challenging as they are dependent on solar activity, which can be unpredictable.

The northern lights are caused by powerful eruptions of materials from our sun called coronal mass ejections. The charged energetic particles travelling from the sun interact with the Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere, producing the stunning colourful displays we see in the night sky.

Aurorae typically occur on Earth 24 to 48 hours after a solar storm — also called a coronal mass ejection or solar flare — is observed, if alignment is in our favour.

When and where do I have the best chance to see the northern light?

Auroral activity happens more frequently at high latitudes near the Earth’s poles.

The best chance to see the northern lights is from a dark sky location approaching the Earth’s north magnetic pole — called the auroral oval, which can increase in size based on geomagnetic activity.

Aurora tends to be more visible around the spring and fall equinoxes, when there are fewer hours of daylight.

If your local weather and space weather reports indicate a level of geomagnetic storm activity rated at either a G4 or G5 (or Kp index of 8 or 9), there is a high likelihood you will see the northern lights and greater potential they will extend further south.

Finding the next northern lights show

To track the appearance of northern lights,  offers lead times for geomagnetic storm activity and tracks the sun’s coronal oval in real time. It also allows users to sign up for space weather alerts, turning your phone into a professional space weather alert centre.

°Õ³ó±ðÌý also issues geomagnetic storm warnings.

Websites like  can also track solar activity and provide a forecast of upcoming aurora activity.