Northern Lights Color Question

Question

Hi, I have a question about the colors of the Northern Lights. Recently in September we we're in Alaska, Denali and Fairbanks and we were fortunate to see the Northern Lights. For us, to the naked eye, the lights basically looked like a bright cloud in the sky, it was whitish. But, for those around me who had iPhones, their screen and photos showed amazing beautiful green colors. Unfortunately I couldn't get my phone to show the same green colors, all I got was black. Whenever I see photos of the Northern Lights, they always seem to show the green colors and so that's that's what I was expecting. The white lights, and the occasional movement was really amazing none the less and we were excited to see them. So my question is, to the naked eye, are the Northern Lights always a bright white, something like looking at a cloud? Or, to the naked eye, are they sometimes not green? Or are all these beautiful green colors basically what you're seeing through a camera? Thanks.

Answer

The appearance of the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) can be quite different to the naked eye versus what a camera captures. What you saw—a bright, whitish cloud-like glow—is actually very common, especially under certain conditions.

Here’s a breakdown of what affects the colors you see:

Human vision vs. camera sensors: The human eye is not very sensitive to color in low-light conditions. At night, our rods (the cells responsible for night vision) dominate, and they mostly perceive shades of gray. So, faint auroras often appear white, gray, or slightly greenish to the naked eye, even though cameras with long exposures capture vivid greens, purples, and reds.
Brightness and intensity: Stronger auroras with higher intensity can sometimes appear green, red, or even pink to the naked eye, but this usually requires dark skies and optimal viewing conditions. Weaker auroras often look pale or white.
Distance and altitude: The aurora occurs at high altitudes (80–300 km above the Earth). The intensity and distance from the observer affect how colors are perceived. Far-away auroras often look like diffuse white or grayish clouds.
Camera settings: iPhones or DSLRs can adjust exposure times and sensor sensitivity, amplifying colors that are too faint for our eyes to detect. This is why photos often show vivid green or purple hues that weren’t visible when looking directly.

In summary, seeing a mostly white aurora is perfectly normal. The bright green and other colors in photos are often enhanced by camera exposure and long shutter speeds. The movement and patterns you experienced are just as spectacular, even if your eyes didn’t see the full range of colors captured in pictures.

If you want to see colors with your eyes, try observing during strong aurora activity in very dark skies away from city lights, and give your eyes several minutes to adapt to the dark.