When is the best time to see the aurora?
The aurora occurs all year round. The image of winter and aurora is strong, but you can actually view the aurora during the summer. However, for some of the summer months in Yellowknife and other locations with high latitude, the sun only goes down for a short while. Since it is still bright in the middle of the night it is not possible to see the aurora. Furthermore, during the autumn and spring, the weather is rather unstable and has a lower percentage of clear skies. Therefore, we have determined the best viewing seasons to be from mid-August to the end of September and from mid-November to mid-April. In Yellowknife, it is possible to see the aurora approximately 240 days of the year and when there are no obstructions such as heavy clouds, they almost always appear. Aurora Village has calculated that each season, customers who participate in 3 consecutive days of aurora viewing have over a 95% chance of seeing the aurora.
While some people may be concerned that a full moon is a problem, only weak aurora may be obstructed by the light of the moon, but in Yellowknife the aurora is frequently strong enough that aurora viewing is still possible on a moonlit night. As far as aurora photography goes, the aurora above a moonlit landscape actually tends to have a pleasing effect. On the whole, when participating in an aurora tour, one doesn’t need to be worried about the moon.