Not since 1913 have the Northland skies seen such a lull in northern lights activity.

A jewel of our region, many are wondering why the aurora borealis has become so hard to see and when will the lights will come back.

They are colors Mother Nature doesn't share very often.

"It's glowing, fluorescing greens and blues in the sky. They dance and they move around, I mean, it's beautiful," said Joel Carlson, director of the Palucci Space Theatre in Hibbing.


Carlson has been paying close attention to the northern lights' longer than usual absence from Northland skies.

He says the region is experiencing a solar minimum.

"That happens every 11 years on average, and during that time there's less activity of the sun and ... the sun is the cause of the northern lights," Carlson said. "We don't have a very active sun, we don't have a lot of northern lights."

Aurora borealis displays happen more frequently closer to the North and South poles, Carlson said.

And though they are happening right now, for the Northland to see them, there must be strong solar winds. That's just not the case this year.

"This isn't really that far out of the norm, but it is the lowest recorded solar spot activity in the past 100 years," Carlson said.

But we are on the upswing, he added.

Over the next few years the aurora borealis will steadily return and become more visible, leading to a predicted solar maximum in 2013.

In that year the Northland could see up dozens of northern lights displays.

"In the past we didn't understand where they came from," Carlson said. "People used to believe maybe it was sunlight reflecting off the glaciers at the North Pole. Or, it's spirits of the ancients causing lights in the sky."

Carlson admits there is still quite a bit of mystery surrounding the beautiful light display.

And that may be why we're so fascinated with them.

"It's a unique occurrence and it's a very beautiful occurrence and we're always looking for those kinds of things as human beings, and it does increase your curiosity about those things," Carlson said.

If you are hoping to see some northern lights here are some tips from the Palucci Space Theatre.

- The best times of the year to find the lights are during the fall and spring, as well as during a solar maximum year.

- The farther north, the better.