Oh heavens! The night skies are filled with celestial phenomena – stars, constellations, the Moon, the Milky Way, and the northern lights (aka aurora borealis). Want to see it all? The North Shore has very little light pollution, especially away from the shoreline communities, making for ideal night sky viewing.
The vast night skies are another free North Shore attraction, open every night, easy to access.
Check below for the current northern lights forecast. Since these are storms, the forecast can change. Check back weekly as we update often.
Seeing the northern lights is breathtaking, inspiring, awesome. Shafts of luminescent green light dance across the sky. Fans of pink glow for hours. Vibrant, pulsating white wands illuminate the night heavens. This is the aurora borealis.
And to be perfectly frank, what looks like the white glow of light pollution is also the northern lights. Less showy, but frequent because northern lights are a geomagnetic storm that occurs close to the earth’s poles. When the storm is big and the winds are right the storm can be seen here.
The bigger the storm, the bigger show. Aurora forecasts are just that, predictions. If there is a likely chance we post a notice (see northern lights forecast below). As with other storms, sometimes they pass quickly and sometimes they linger all night.
Look to the north sky, this generally means Lake Superior is over your right shoulder.
Get away from lights, a mere half mile inland does the trick.
The higher in elevation you are, the better your chances of seeing the lights, and getting an unobstructed view.
If you see a smear of white over the forest, you may be seeing the aurora. Watch and see if it moves.
I wish I could give you photography tips, but that eludes me. Which is lucky because then I watch and appreciate.
A more consistent evening display is the Milky Way. This massive spiraling star formation has a dense nucleus and thin surround disc. When we see the hazy band of light bending across the night sky, we are looking at the Milky Way.
Moonless nights are best for night sky viewing – we’ve listed those times below.
The Milky Way is brightest in the summer months and can be seen in the east/southeast sky. Binoculars will let you zoom in on the shimmering stars.
September 7, 2025 12:00 am - September 7, 2025 11:59 pm
September Full Moon Full moons have many names derived from various cultures reflecting what was happening in the natural world. The Fall Harvest Moon is the full Moon closest to the September equinox (around September 22). Most years, it’s in September, but every four years or so, it falls in October. Th September moon is also known as the Corn Moon, Wine Moon or Barley Moon.
October 6, 2025 12:00 am - October 6, 2025 11:59 pm
October Full Moon - 1st of 3 supermoons in a row A perigee is when the moon 's orbit is closest to the earth and a supermoon is when the full or new moon coincide (or almost coincide) with the perigee. What does that mean? The moon looks exceptionally big because it is close! Full moons have many names derived from various cultures reflecting what was happening in the natural world. October's full moon is the Hunter's Moon. Other autumnal names include Falling Leaves Moon, Drying Rice Moon, and Freezing Moon.
November 5, 2025 12:00 am - November 5, 2025 11:59 pm
November Full Moon - 2nd of 3 supermoons in a row A perigee is when the moon 's orbit is closest to the earth and a supermoon is when the full or new moon coincide (or almost coincide) with the perigee. What does that mean? The moon looks exceptionally big because it is close! Full moons have many names derived from various cultures reflecting what was happening in the natural world. While the Frost Moon and Freezing Moon are self-explanatory, November's full moon is most known as the Beaver Moon. Beavers are quite active preparing for winter. Also known as the Mourning Moon, due to the increase in darkness.
December 4, 2025 12:00 am - December 4, 2025 11:59 pm
December Full Moon - 3rd of 3 supermoons in a row A perigee is when the moon 's orbit is closest to the earth and a supermoon is when the full or new moon coincide (or almost coincide) with the perigee. What does that mean? The moon looks exceptionally big because it is close! Full moons have many names derived from various cultures reflecting what was happening in the natural world. December's full moon is known as the Cold Moon or Long Nights Moon. In addition to the shortest daylight day of the year, the Long Nights Moon pertains to the amount of time the moon is above the horizon. It takes a high trajectory across the sky because it is opposite to the low sun.
September 1, 2025 8:00 pm - September 2, 2025 5:45 am
The Northern Lights will be out all night Monday, September 1st. It looks like the best viewing will be from about 1am-4am but they night skies should be dancing from dusk to dawn! The aurora should be seen as far south central Idaho, most of Nebraska, all of Iowa, through central Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, all of Pennsylvania and the northeast United states. Get northern lights viewing and tips and best stargazing dates
August 9, 2025 12:00 am - August 9, 2025 11:59 pm
July 17, 2025 11:00 pm - August 24, 2025 5:00 am
The Perseid smeteor shower is one of the most prolific showers of the year, producing rich, bright streaks. The Perseids are active from mid-July until late August and will peak Aug. 12. Best viewing is after midnight. Viewers can start observing around 11 p.m. local time when the rates of shooting start increasing and can watch the sky until dawn. The Perseid meteor shower radiant is in the constellation Perseus. This strong shower is produced by Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, an icy body that takes 133 Earth years to orbit once around the sun. If there's a clear sky, the Perseids will have a meteor rate of about 100 visible "shooting stars" per hour.
August 23, 2025 9:00 pm - August 23, 2025 11:45 pm
Best Stargazing August - New moon nights – night when the moon is absent from the sky – make for great stargazing. Here’s a great way to start – look due north after the sun has set and find the Big Dipper constellation [see photo] with its telltale 3-star handle and 4-star dipper. In the summer, the dipper is at ‘9-o’clock’ and hangs dipper down.
September 21, 2025 8:00 pm - September 21, 2025 11:45 pm
Best Stargazing September - New moon nights – night when the moon is absent from the sky – make for great stargazing. Here’s a great way to start – look due north after the sun has set and find the Big Dipper constellation [see photo] with its telltale 3-star handle and 4-star dipper. In the autumn, the dipper is at ‘6-o’clock’ with the dipper facing up/handle to the left.
October 6, 2025 10:00 pm - October 10, 2025 5:00 am
The Draconids meteor shower has staged some dramatic outbursts in the past but nowadays its show is far from extravagant. In recent years the Draconids have been relatively quiet, producing few meteors and no noticeable outbursts of activity. The shower is active between Oct. 6-10, with peak viewing the evening of Oct 8 into the early morning hours of Oct 9. Viewing conditions are favorable this year as the moon will only be 27% illuminated. and will set around 9pm. The Draconids are caused by Earth passing through debris — bits of ice and rock — left behind by Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner as it hurtles through the solar system, passing Earth once every 6.6 years, according to NASA Science.
October 21, 2025 8:00 pm - October 21, 2025 11:45 pm
Best Stargazing October - New moon nights – night when the moon is absent from the sky – make for great stargazing. Here’s a great way to start – look due north after the sun has set and find the Big Dipper constellation [see photo] with its telltale 3-star handle and 4-star dipper. In the autumn, the dipper is at ‘6-o’clock’ with the dipper facing up/handle to the left.
October 20, 2025 11:45 pm - October 21, 2025 5:00 am
Like the Eta Aquarids, the Orionids meteor shower is a by-product of Halley's Comet. The Orionids are active from October 2 -November 10, with peak expected October 20-21, with clear-sky rates of about 20 meteors per hour. Watch for Orionid meteors on both the mornings of October 20 and 21, starting after midnight through the wee hours before dawn. The moon will be mostly full, but waning, and will interfere with spotting some meteors Orionids are named for their radiant near the constellation Orion, the hunter, which is one of the easier constellations to spot with the three stars that make up its "belt."
November 12, 2025 9:00 pm - November 13, 2025 5:00 am
The Taurids meteor shower is an annual meteor shower that occurs every November and is composed of two streams, the Southern Taurids and the Northern Taurids. The Taurids are known for producing bright fireballs, and 2025 is predicted to be a year with an increased number of them At peak viewing times during the Taurid meteor shower, you may be able to see about a half-dozen shooting stars per hour. The Northern Taurids are active between Oct 20 - Dec 10 and peak on Nov. 12.
November 20, 2025 8:00 pm - November 20, 2025 11:45 pm
Best Stargazing November - New moon nights – night when the moon is absent from the sky – make for great stargazing. Here’s a great way to start – look due north after the sun has set and find the Big Dipper constellation [see photo] with its telltale 3-star handle and 4-star dipper. In the autumn, the dipper is at ‘6-o’clock’ with the dipper facing up/handle to the left.
November 17, 2025 9:00 pm - November 18, 2025 4:00 am
The Leonids meteor shower offers clear-sky meteor rates of about 10 to 15 shooting stars per hour. They are active between Nov. 6 - 30 and will peak on Nov. 17-18. The Leonids are bright meteors and have a high percentage of persistent trains according to AMS. The Leonids' radiant is located in the sickle-shaped head of the constellation Leo, the lion. Leonid meteor hunting can be incredible, or a total bust. It all depends on where its parent body, Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, will be in its orbit and the kind of debris clumps that will be around when our planet passes through this comet's orbit.
December 13, 2025 10:00 pm - December 14, 2025 3:00 am
The Geminids meteor shower occurs between November 19 to December 24 and this year will peak on the nights of December 13 and 14. The shower can produce 130 to 140 bright, white, fast meteors per hour on a clear sky. The debris that falls onto Earth's atmosphere during this meteor shower comes from the asteroid Phaethon. The meteor shower's radiant is located in the constellation Gemini, which rises around sunset.
December 21, 2025 10:00 pm - December 22, 2025 3:00 am
The Ursids meteor shower is active between Dec. 17-26 and this year will peak on Dec. 21-22. The moon will be slight over half full. The Ursids are associated with Comet 8P/Tuttle, a periodic comet that follows a 13.5-year elliptical orbit around the sun.
December 19, 2025 7:00 pm - December 19, 2025 7:00 pm
Best Stargazing December - New moon nights – night when the moon is absent from the sky – make for great stargazing. Here’s a great way to start – look due north after the sun has set and find the Big Dipper constellation [see photo] with its telltale 3-star handle and 4-star dipper. In the winter, the dipper is at ‘3-o’clock’ with the handle hanging down.
