A solar storm heading for Earth is bringing with it the possibility to see aurora borealis at locations in the southern US that are normally far out of range for the Northern Lights. You can boost your chances of seeing the dancing magnetic collisions by using something more sensitive than your eyes: your smartphone or anything else with a camera sensor.

A series of energetic blasts from the sun are set to impact Earth’s magnetic field Friday night, perhaps continuing into the weekend. These so-called coronal mass ejections (CMEs) have triggered the first severe geomagnetic storm watch issued by NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center since 2005. The storm also brings with it the potential for aurora to become visible as far south as Alabama, and perhaps even farther with the help of some technology most of us carry around all the time.

There’s entire books written on astrophotography (including this free one from NASA) that will instruct you on how to get dazzling photos like the above, but today I’m more interested in letting the casual skywatcher know your phone may be the best tool to be able to see auroras at all, especially if you’re in a location where they’re rarely visible.

Simply put, the sensors in your phone or other camera are more sensitive than your eyes.

“Things that the human eye can’t see, your phone can,” explained Brent Gordon at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.

Gordon says recent geomagnetic storms have yielded photographs of aurora taken in places like Mexico where aurora are rarely ever glimpsed with human retinas.

Pointing your camera at a darkened sky with little cloud cover or light pollution during times of heightened geomagnetic activity could yield “a surprising treat” as Gordon puts it.

To know when to check the sky for the presence of invisible aurora with your camera, you can check the Space Weather Prediction Center’s forecast, or sign up for alerts from a site like SpaceWeather.

Other tips include putting your smartphone camera into night mode, or setting your camera to take longer exposures. For best results, a tripod is also a good idea.

Best of luck. Share your best shots with me on X @EricCMack.