The Search for Aurora Borealis: How to See the Northern Lights in Chicagoland

Lake Michigan, October 7, 2024 (KP - 5.67)

In the Beginning

I’ve wanted to experience Aurora Borealis for as long as I can remember. As a kid it seemed impossible, because at the time it was only visible in faraway places. I put it on my bucket list all same, and got a bit more proactive when I read places like northern MI, WI and MN would see an uptick in sightings through 2024 and into 2025.

We spent our last two family vacations chasing the lights in those states to no avail. But then, by some gift-from-the-universe miracle, they started making appearances even further south, with the greater Chicago area often “making the cut” on maps used to forecast Aurora’s nightly reach. I wound up seeing them for the first time less than a mile from my home in May. And then this past week: I saw them twice. But these sightings were by no means sheer luck. They took time, effort and – this one is especially important – patience.

Lake Michigan, May 11, 2024

I recall when they first appeared here in May, the lakefront was packed with like-minded souls on a quest to see the elusive lights. But this past week, I was the lone person at the lake, soaking in this magnificence all by my lonesome. At first I wondered if that sighting back in May had been sufficient to quell the area’s collective appetite for the lights. But then, after talking to a handful of folks, I realized most actually hadn’t seen them yet. There was a desire to but an uncertainty about how to do it, where to go, and what to expect.

I am by no means an astronomer or a meteorologist, so take this advice with a grain of technicolor salt. Suffice it to say I’ve been stalking aurora since early 2023; I’ve actively gone out in search of it on 9 occasions and only seen them on 4. But those 5 failures and 4 successes taught me a lot, and I’m happy to share in hopes of spreading the awe.

TLDR;

I go into detail on all of these below, but if you need a quick and easy guide, here you go:

1. Pay attention to the news and monitor KP numbers.

2. Anything over a KP of 5 can pop up in the Chicago area if conditions are just right (but the higher the KP, the better).

3. You need a dark, clear sky. Avoid light pollution and cloudy weather. For those in the Chicago area, this means either heading to the lake, a forest preserve with open spaces, or a nearby rural community.

4. Make sure you’re looking to the north/northeast, at and above the horizon.

5. It’s very unlikely you’ll see — with an unaided eye — the vibrant colors we’ve all come to recognize in photos. Instead, look for grayish white hues that don’t look like clouds and possibly (but not necessarily) have noticeable movement.

6. When it doubt, hold up your smart phone or camera; if the lights are there, the colors will pop through a newer smartphone or camera.

7. Be patient. Conditions need to be JUST RIGHT for the Northern Lights to make a grand entrance, and they don’t always last for long (anywhere from a few minutes to over an hour). I recommend waiting a good 1-3 hours while also monitoring KP numbers.

8. Be persistent. You might need to go out a few times before you have any luck.

9. Bring the comforts of home (e.g. chairs, picnic blankets, layers to stay warm, friends/family, etc.); this makes it easier to abide by tip #7.

10. Embrace the experience, no matter the outcome.

Temper Your Expectations

Aurora is only faintly visible here (KP - 5.33)

• It is very unlikely you’ll see Aurora Borealis in full color without the aid of a newer camera / smartphone. This is because we’re in northern Illinois, not the arctic tundra, though I’ve read some Aurora chasers in Finland say that even there you sometimes need a camera to see all the colors.

• It would take a very powerful storm for the full colors to be visible here without the aid of a technological device. Such a storm IS possible, but the ones we’ve been getting here require a little extra help to be fully appreciated.

• Thankfully, many of us have all the tech we need to see the full color display in our pockets (and if you know what to look for, you CAN see the lights without the camera – the camera just helps bring out the colors we’re all expecting to see).

• Unfortunately, seeing the full colors won’t come easy with older smartphones. My 5-year-old, 3-lens iPhone picks up the lights; my husband’s single-lens, 6-year-old iPhone doesn’t.

• If you have an older phone that doesn’t offer night mode and/or manual controls, research camera apps that might give you that ability. There are some out there, but I haven’t tested any and so cannot vouch for them.

Research, Research, Research

Pay attention to the news but don’t rely solely on the news. If they say aurora is likely to be visible near you anytime soon, perk up and start actively monitoring the other resources I link to below. But you might also want to casually stroll through those other resources from time to time; sometimes the peaks don’t make the news.

3-Day Forecast (Link)
I use this site just to have some idea of how things are looking for the next three days. If it says the “High Latitude 3-Day Aurora Forecast” will be 7 or above, I take note. If it’s an 8 or above, I start to seriously consider re-arranging my evening plans for the day. If it’s a 9, as it was this past weekend, I absolutely do.

2-Day Forecast, With Map (Link)
Anything within the thin red line on this page is within the range of possibility. I normally use this to gauge whether or not it’s worth going out, but I have to say: This isn’t an exact science. None of it is. I mean, it’s science. Yes. But there are so many factors that determine whether or not aurora will be visible – and where, and when – that it’s important to know that sometimes we’ll be above the red line and might not see a thing. Others, we’ll be below it but might still see something. This is where monitoring KP numbers in real-time comes into play.

Real-Time Prediction (Link)

• This website updates every 2 minutes and shows the forecast up to 14 minutes out.

• The bigger the KP number, the better our odds of seeing some lights in the Chicago area.

• According to the site’s own map, northern Illinois will only see lights if the KP number is a 7 or above. But I’m here to say: I’ve seen the lights 3 times, and each time the KP number was in the 5-6 range.

• If I see the KP become a 5.33 or above, and the weather is clear and my schedule is free, I head out to try to see them.

Local Weather

It doesn’t matter what’s happening with the sun and the resultant magnetic storms if it’s rainy, cloudy, foggy or stormy where you live. You need a mostly clear sky to have any chance of seeing Aurora Borealis.

Find a Dark Corner Near You

• Whether you head to the lake or a rural area will depend on where in the Chicago area you live and what’s easiest/closest/safest.

• Think of the darkest place you can go that has an open view of the northern sky and head there.

• Thus far all of my sightings have been on the lakefront on a particularly dark beach, where I had a view of the horizon (apparently lower KPs are generally most visible along the horizon, rather than high up in the sky).

Timing is Everything

Technically the KP number is everything, but it’s important to note you’re unlikely to see the lights until a little after the sun has fully set. I keep reading things that say Aurora Borealis is most active from 12-2a, but I’ve seen them at 9p, 9:30p and 11ish.

Bring a Friend (or Two)

This kind of experience is better when shared. But even more than that: Hanging out in expansive, dark spaces can be kind of unsettling, particularly if you’re the only person there – as I was the last two times – and another lone stranger approaches.

Make Yourself Comfortable

How long you’ll be out will depend on how patient you can be (and how shy the aurora is that night). If you’ll be out for more than a few minutes, you might as well bring a few comforts from home and make a night of it. I recommend packing the following:

• Fully charged, newer camera and/or camera phone (this is required if you want to see the full colors)

• Lawn chairs and/or a picnic blanket

• Flashlight (but don’t use it unless you must)

• Water

• Snacks

• Wireless charger for said phone

• Bug spray (depending on the season)

• A hat, jacket/coat and/or gloves (depending on the season)

Know What to Look For (And Bring Your Camera)

As mentioned earlier, it’s unlikely (but not impossible) you’ll be able to see the lights in all their glory with your naked eye in the Chicago area. So what exactly are you looking for?

The rosy hues here appeared as unusual color blocks that were barely visible to the unaided eye (KP - 5.33)

• Make sure you’re looking to the north (on the horizon or above), but note that if you’re along the lake you’ll see a bit of them over the lake, too.

• Be on the lookout for a grayish white presence or any other changes in the sky’s “natural” hue. These can be super subtle and easy to miss. You might notice them moving in an unexpected way (but they also might move so slowly that you don’t notice).

• For one of my experiences, my clue that something was happening was that the darkest parts of the sky seemed to have somehow gotten even darker (with the deepest of purples just barely evident over the horizon). When I held up my camera, that darkness turned into a brilliant fuchsia.

• For my other two experiences, I could actually see the lights appear and move, swirling about in some places and staying seemingly still in others – they just weren’t in full color. Much of the lights were a greyish white to the naked eye, but there were other shades too. I just couldn’t make them out until I held up my camera and let out a sigh. IT’S SO PRETTY, Y’ALL.

Patience is a Virtue

As I said, I’ve actively sought out the lights on 9 occasions and only seen them on 4. Each trip was 1-3 hours and involved lots of waiting, observing, monitoring the KP numbers and – yes – holding up my camera to fact check my eyes.

Prepare to Be Disappointed

Lake Michigan, Oct. 7, 2024 (KP - 5.67)

I’ve been out when the KP number was a 7 – which is supposed to be a sure thing on a clear night for this area – but I saw nothing. I’ve seen an 8.33 be super faint (because the bulk of the particles were pushed further east). I’ve seen them appear and disappear in under 5 minutes (though on 3 occasions, they were visible for 10-30 minutes). Point being, some nights they’re there when the odds are low, and not there when the odds are high. You might go out and not see a single thing. Or you might wait an hour and see everything. That’s part of what makes these lights – and the experience of seeing them – so darn special.

In Sum

Discovering these displays of celestial magic can be a bit of a time commitment, so make the most of it. Go some place where you’ll be happy to just sit and observe and commune with the universe – and whichever friends or family you take with you – for a while.

You might not see it on the first try. It might take a few hours, or you might need to pack up and try again some other day.

But trust me when I say it’s worth the effort.

The Missing Pieces

It’s been a year.

12 months since I last heard my mother’s voice. 

365 days since I last felt an iota of hope.

I marked the occasion at her home, where I’ve spent the last few months digging through boxes, unearthing parts of my parents that had been tucked away for decades. I’m realizing that as much as I love and miss them, the fact remains that I knew them first and foremost as my parents, and not entirely as the people they were.

I’ve found a treasure trove of letters my mom saved from her time as a school bus driver: notes from students telling her how much she meant to them. Because of her kindness. Because of the interest she showed in their lives.

I’ve found old report cards and citizenship awards: some moldy and ragged at the edges.

I found invitations to their wedding, cards from those who attended and endless mementos whose significance I will never have the chance to understand.

I’ve found photos of them young, happy, smiling: photos of them together, photos of them with family, with friends.

I saw my paternal grandfather’s handwriting for the first time in one of my dad’s high school yearbooks: a brief message that made it clear he believed my dad would be the first in their family to go to college. He lived just long enough to learn he was right.

Elsewhere in the book was a message from my father’s youngest brother. He also died in 2020: just three months after my father and three months before my mother. He was in junior high when he scrawled his message: TO MY DUMB BROTHER.

I laughed out loud when I read those words, knowing that was likely the closest they ever came to swapping terms of endearment.

In other boxes, less pleasant memories – ones I witnessed in real life and in full horror – are also to be found. Old test results. Brain scans. Liver scans. Half-empty pill bottles. Unfinished crossword puzzles.

And the part that really stands out to me — the part I don’t fully understand — is that I feel the same gut punch whether I’m opening a box full of sad memories, or a box full of happy ones.

They are all pieces to the same bittersweet puzzle: a reminder of hope reduced to ash. A reminder of life’s frailty and time’s cruel passing. A reminder of those we are missing.

A reminder that, when they were here, our puzzle was complete.

And the realization that it never will be again.

"Good Health" Makes a Bad Decision

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The front of the old bag (Mickey, left) compared to the new bag (Monster, right). Click to enlarge.

If you, like me, are always looking for ways to sneak vegetable-like substances into your picky-eater’s diet, please note this massive bait and switch from “Good Health” with their “Veggie Chips.”

SOME VEGETABLES AND ALL VITAMINS HAVE BEEN REMOVED AND A CANCER WARNING HAS BEEN ADDED 

I repeat.  

SOME VEGETABLES AND ALL VITAMINS HAVE BEEN REMOVED AND A CANCER WARNING HAS BEEN ADDED 

And yes: I know. Dehydrated vegetables are no substitute for fresh ones. But the struggle to get my kid to the fresh variety is very real, y’all. So whenever we opted for a processed food for snack time, we turned to things like Good Health Veggie Chips because their nutritional profile blew away the competition. They were loaded with actual dehydrated vegetables and herbs; and since throwing a bunch of vegetable powder into a processed snack doesn’t pack the nutritional wallop of eating fresh veggies, they previously added a host of vitamins to help mimic the impact. In fact: their previous formula included nine types of dehydrated vegetables and herbs (I’m not counting “dehydrated potato” in that number for obvious nutritional deficits) and six different vitamins.  

So when I saw they were marketing a new monster-shaped chip just in time for Halloween but didn’t shout “new recipe!” on their packaging, I wrongly assumed the fun shape was the only thing that was different. We were running low and I was looking for “healthy” Halloween-themed treats for my lone trick-and-treater, so I eagerly threw them into my cart without a second thought.  

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The back of the old bag (left) compared to the new bag (right). Click to enlarge.

Until I got them home, that is, and I realized the word “veggie” was suspiciously missing from the small-type description in the lower left-hand corner of the bag. So I flipped the bag over and realized the “ingredient” list was significantly shorter on the new packaging. Normally I’m all for processed foods having as few ingredients as possible, but not when the ingredients are a variety of vegetables and vitamins. So I looked more closely and was pretty appalled.  

The new formula has three fewer dehydrated vegetables/herbs (I’m giving them a pass on the missing “dehydrated garlic,” as the new formula replaces it with “garlic powder”). It’s missing beets, carrots and broccoli and ALL SIX ADDED VITAMINS.  

They’ve also added a few things, including 62% more fat, rice flour, potassium chloride, potassium citrate and citric acid. And last and certainly not least: a cancer warning. Yes, that’s right: a cancer warning.  

There’s a lot to unpack here, and I will admit now: although I primarily write in the healthcare space and am no stranger to related research, I’m not a doctor, scientist or nutritionist. But when I see the presence of more fat AND a cancer warning tied to acrylamide – a chemical that can form in some foods due to high-temperature cooking – I can’t help but wonder if there’s a connection. The presence of more oil/fat leads me to believe the new formula is being fried at a higher temperature (and thereby introducing an unsafe chemical into the finished product). 

It’s worth noting that many potato chips and fries (and even some coffee) are required by the state of California to include an acrylamide warning due to high cooking temperatures. But it’s also worth noting that the previous formula didn’t require such a warning, and the need to include one now, to me, is an enormous contradiction to the brand name: Good Health.  

As for the potassium chloride and potassium citrate: these are sometimes used as salt substitutes and to regulate acidity, respectively, and aren’t necessarily alarming. But this formula also still includes “salt” and the exact same amount of sodium as the previous recipe, which leads me to believe they felt the flavor was lacking and wanted to add more “salt-like quality” without increasing sodium levels. This results in a negligible amount of potassium (2% of the RDA) appearing in each serving, which can be a good thing. But with the appearance of potassium in the new formula comes a reduction in the amount of iron from 2% to zilch. So in a way, it’s a wash.

In any event, it seems these additions are intended to make up for what the new formula was otherwise lacking. We haven’t tasted them yet – in fact, we plan on returning them – but after I realized these chips were markedly different from the originals, I took a peek at online reviews and noticed a remarkable decline in ratings between the old and new formula. Seven months ago, every Target reviewer gave Good Health Veggie Chips 5 out of 5 stars. But starting about three months ago – presumably about the time these were introduced – the ratings dropped. 50% of all ratings since then have been 1 out of 5 stars, with one reviewer calling them “oily and gross” in comparison to the prior version. Multiple reviewers comment on the texture, with one noting: “The [previous formula] felt more like baked chips, while these monster ones are more air-y and feel like they're fried.”

If this reviewer is correct about the change in cooking method, that would certainly explain the addition of a cancer warning. I plan on reaching out to the company to confirm and will update this story once I know more, but given the timing of the new chips’ release, I didn’t want to delay sending this alert out to regular buyers.

My hope here is that these monster chips – as difficult as their cuteness is to resist in the days leading up to Halloween – are a temporary thing. That once Halloween passes, they’ll go not just with a different design, but also return to their original formula. But whether this is a short-or-long-term recipe, the fact remains: to market them as the same chip is deceptive at best.

If this is a long-term switch, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a cost-saving measure. But I think Good Health might find their sales negatively impacted by this move, with the previous formula’s nutritional value having been the reason many of us chose them over other brands. For me, this deceptive switch has significantly damaged their brand, and I suspect it will have a lasting impact on their sales. In which case: saving up-front now might cost them in the long run.

The Pandemic (From the Perspective of a Three Year Old)

My daughter’s favorite stuffy has been bedridden with a terrible cold for two days now. She’s also started writing/singing songs about needing to stay home to stay well.

We’ve had to walk a fine line between being open and honest with her — and keeping her at peace. But invariably every time we have to explain something new (why play dates are cancelled... why we aren’t going to preschool... why we can’t go to the playground... why we can’t go to restaurants... why we can’t go visit grandma...), the stress digs in a little deeper, no matter how delicately we deliver the words.

Just a reminder that even the littlest humans are indeed still human, and this is a tough time for them, too.

So be patient. Walk away if you get angry, and give them a hug even when their sadness defies all reason. Do whatever you can to make the most of this time together, and when all else fails, remember to give yourself a break, too.

On Caroll Spinney's Passing

Caroll Spinney with Big Bird, his largest creation.
AP

One of my earliest memories as a child is being sucked through a clear plastic tube – a la those pneumatic tubes that bank drive-ups use – and zipped through a hospital, naked and exposed for all of the world to see while I screamed at the top of my lungs for someone to let me out.

Scratch that. One of my earliest NIGHTMARES as a child – one that continued to haunt me well into adulthood – was the result of being alone in a children’s hospital, my parents unable to be there all day, every day, with solo trips to CT scans and MRI machines leaving me with a lifelong fear of confined spaces and surly nurses.

It was a scary time for me, and it left a deep mark I still can’t entirely shake.

But there was one bright light. It was yellow, covered in soft feathers, and gifted to me by my big brother, who was visibly holding back tears as he gave it to me to keep me safe at the hospital.

It was a Big Bird doll in honor of my favorite Sesame Street character (the fact that he became my hospital buddy made me love him all the more). I have vague recollections of talking to him, and him to me, my little brain processing all the lessons I’d learned from the show and applying them to my new, terrifying world.

I remember, too, when my family moved a few years later, and that doll was somehow lost in the shuffle. Whether my parents donated him or tossed him and thought I wouldn’t notice or we just never unpacked that box, I don’t know, but I remember feeling so sad, so alone, when I couldn’t find him.

I felt a little like that today when I heard about Caroll Spinney’s passing. It’s so strange how the death of a celebrity – of someone we’ve never met but feel like we know – hits us in the gut. And though I’m sure Big Bird will continue to live on, this is the end of an era. Time is passing. Lives are passing.

And I find myself wishing, perhaps now more than ever, that I had something – anything – to bring me that same level of solace I once found in a tiny Big Bird doll.