The northern lights seem to be appearing more often than usual this year.
According to Roland Dechesne, an astronomer with the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, there's a reason why we're seeing more of the aurora borealis.
"There has been a lot going on this year, and that's because the sun is in the most active portion of its 11-year solar cycle," said Dechesne.
During the cycle, the sun's magnetic poles flip, with the north becoming the south and vice versa. At its peak, this causes significantly more solar flares, which leads to more northern light displays.
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"When solar flares encounter the Earth, it actually encounters the magnetic field, and some of that material gets trapped within the magnetosphere."
Dechesne added that the northern lights only appear when the pole of the solar flare is opposite the pole of the Earth.
"It's just like magnets we play with as children. Opposite poles attract each other. If you try to put two north poles together, they will repel each other. The same thing is happening out in space."
The peak of the sun's 11-year cycle was recorded by NASA on October 15, 2024.