Northern Lights Glow Up Mid-Michigan

Do you have a "bucket list"? You know, things you hope to see or do or accomplish before your time on Earth is over?

For me, the item at the top of the list is "seeing the Northern Lights".

RELATED: These 3 Places in Michigan Have Some of the Best Views of the Northern Lights

The Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, are created when "energized particles from the sun slam into Earth's upper atmosphere at speeds of up to 45 million mph", according to space.com. Earth's magnetic fields redirect that energy toward the North and South Poles, which in turn can create some spectacularly vivid light shows in the night sky.

Travel + Leisure magazine says Alaska's the best place in the United States to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights phenomenon. Canada's Yukon Territory and Scandinavia are also known to be good destinations for those hoping to see all the brilliant colors.

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It's not unheard of for the Northern Lights to be seen as far south as Lower Michigan, but it's not common.

Lower Michigan Gets Some Spectacular Shots of the Northern Lights

Imagine my surprise to wake up this morning to a social media feed filled with glorious Northern Lights photos from people all around Lower Michigan! I had my chance to cross Item #1 off my bucket list without even having to travel outside my county, and I slept right through it!

Sigh.

It'll happen again, but it's hard to say when. You can bookmark this site to get daily Northern Lights forecasts and get an idea when they might be viewable from Lower Michigan again.