Ten places to see the aurora borealis, ranked on how often it fills a clear night sky and how easily you get there, from Alaska and Canada's north to Lapland and Iceland.
The aurora needs two things: a place under the auroral oval and a clear, dark sky. We ranked these ten on how often the lights are overhead on a clear night in the dark season, then on how easily you reach the place and stay there. Seasons follow the tourism boards where they publish one.
The best documented odds on this list: Explore Fairbanks counts the aurora on four of five clear, dark nights between 21 August and 21 April. Stay three nights or more and drive out of town, away from the city's glow.
Directly under the auroral oval on a flat, dry plateau, with up to 240 viewing nights a year by Destination Canada's count. Book a lakeside aurora camp out of town, where a heated cabin waits between displays.
The largest town this far north sits inside the aurora zone, with a busy airport and every kind of chase on offer. The coast brings cloud, so book a guide who drives inland to the clearest sky rather than one fixed spot.
The mountains around Lake Torneträsk often hold a gap in the cloud over the village, which is why the STF Aurora Sky Station stands on the slope above it. Take the train in from Kiruna and stay at least two nights.
A small fell village in northern Lapland, where the Finnish Meteorological Institute puts the odds of aurora on a clear night at one in two or better. Ivalo airport is about half an hour away, and glass-roofed cabins nearby let you watch from bed.
Under the auroral oval on the shore of Hudson Bay, with aurora on up to 300 nights a year by Travel Manitoba's count. Access costs it a higher rank: no road reaches the town, so you arrive on a Calm Air flight or a long VIA Rail journey.
Peaks rising straight from the sea under the aurora zone, the most dramatic foreground on the list. Coastal weather turns fast, so stay several nights; the ferry from Bodø to Moskenes takes about three and a half hours.
The easiest aurora trip in Finland, with an airport, a night train and the Arctic Circle on the edge of town. Odds on a clear night are lower than further north, so take a tour that drives out into the dark forest.
North Iceland's main town, at 65.7°N, with dark sky a short drive from the centre. Its cloud cover is no better than Reykjavík's, so watch the Icelandic Met Office cloud forecast and drive to the gap.
The easiest start of all: a transatlantic airport and tours leaving most nights. It ranks last because city light and frequent cloud cut the odds, so head out to Grótta lighthouse, one of the darkest spots in the capital area.
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